Out & About: Southwestern Pennsylvania arts council hosts 27th annual show
For the 27th Annual Regional Juried Exhibition of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Council for the Arts, juror Paula Burleigh said she chose “artworks that asked me to find unexpected delight in the ordinary.”
Her choices included works in various media by 53 regional artists, revealed during a Nov. 12 opening reception at the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art at Ligonier Valley.
Burleigh, an assistant professor of art history and director of Allegheny Art Galleries at Allegheny College in Meadville, further said she was impressed by the artists’ visions that ask viewers to “see beyond the limits of our own experience.”
This year’s exhibition is dedicated to Barbara Jones, who retired in April as chief curator of The Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg, following a 26-year tenure.
Jones’s support of the arts community has been invaluable, SPCA President Susan Kiren said. Jones responded with compliments for the organization.
“There’s so much talent here; I wish we had more opportunities to show it,” Jones told the assemblage, while encouraging them to “keep making art — it benefits all of us.”
Also receiving recognition were artists Dai Morgan, first prize for the acrylic painting, “Runaway Pony”; Connie Clutter, second prize for the watercolor, “Disparaged”; Stuart Thompson, third prize for the oil, “ART (Albuquerque Rapid Transit)”; and Richard McWherter, fourth prize for inkjet on paper, “The Strength of Dreaming.”
Awards of Excellence went to oil painters William Karaffa for “Perfections Cold Beckon” and Elizabeth Sickles for “In the Sunroom.”
Awards of Merit went to Joseph Ryznar for “Overcast,” plastic six-pack rings and twigs; Eileen Stoner for “Goldenrod Gatherer,” graphite on paper; Larry Mallory for “The Lantern,” watercolor; and Adelberto Ortiz for “Pennant,” acrylic.
Vincenzo Spinelli was revealed as winner of the People’s Choice Award from last year’s exhibition for his metal and glass sculpture, “Guns and Roses.”
The council represents artists from 19 counties in Southwestern Pennsylvania. The current exhibition runs through Feb. 5. Information on gallery hours is available at sama-arts.org.
Seen at the opening: Susan Pollins, Tom Niggel, Kathy and Jim Longacre, Arlene Kendra, Sally Loughran, Ronald Nigro, Bill Kiren, Jeff Kiren, Pat and Bob Majcher, Rosemary Sovyak, Linda Blum, Mary Ellen and Phil Raneri, George and Olive Conte, Richard Stoner, Peg and Bill Panasiti, Alexis Dillon, Jack Mayer, Olga Herbert, Jim Griffith, Debbie and Rob King, Kimberly and Patricia Elliott-Rentler, Clare Kaczmarek, John and Bonnie Hill, Evelyn Lemmon, Nettie Sullenberger and SAMA site coordinator and education director Kristin Miller.
Shirley McMarlin is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Shirley by email at smcmarlin@triblive.com or via Twitter .
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