Springfield Art Association’s new
exhibit of two-dimensional art, organized around the single theme
of The Modern Landscape, represents a first for the organization: a show
dedicated to Illinois artists.
Amanda Lampert, SAA’s curator of
collections, credits former executive director Erika Fitzgerald
with the idea. “She wasn’t here to see the exhibit
through, but I think she’d be excited about the work
we’ve received and the artists participating,” Lampert
says.
The search for participants was not simply
conducted through the university grapevine. “We advertised
our call for submissions through Web sites that share this kind of
information with a great variety of talent, in and out of
academe,” Lampert says.
Invitations were sent at the end of May, and
the entry deadline was July 5. Despite the tight time frame, some
artists created work reflecting the theme, expressly for the
exhibit. Lampert describes the exhibit as “a nice blend of
realistic pieces and abstract pieces.”
To encourage entries, the SAA offered a $750
best-of-show award and $250 each to three honorable mentions.
Successful exhibitors were juried in, selected from hundreds of
submitted slides of works, by Jan DeLong and Kate Humphrey. Judges will
present awards at a reception on Saturday.
The roster of 34 includes Springfield-area
artists Bill Crook, Jeff Garland, Bob Gordon, Mike Miller, Ron
Ackerman, Ginny Lee, Jim Edwards, Sue Scaife, Barbara Stevens, and
Sharon Black.
Black, SAA’s education coordinator,
notes that the exhibit also includes some “high-end”
names from the north: “If you’re big in Chicago,
you’re a national name, and we’re pleased to have them
here.” Those names include C. Joel Beaman, Roland Kula, Brian
Loftus, and Christine Olson of Chicago.
The Modern Landscape runs
Sept. 3-Nov. 5 at Edwards Place, 700 N. Fourth St. Gallery hours are 10
a.m.-5 p.m. Monday.-Friday and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. The opening
reception and awards presentation will be held 5:30-7:30 p.m. Saturday,
Sept. 3.
This article appears in Sep 1-7, 2005.
