Ray Gilbert, Tree of Life

The dynamic symmetry drew me to this painting.  Controlled chaos appears to burst from the white rectangle at the canvas ’s center.  Orbs skitter, float, and perhaps bounce, while spirals wait to spring, releasing the energy humming within their coils.  A denser, shadowy realm pulsates below, while a sky-blue background lightens the top half.  The painting seems to convey vigorous forces of growth, whether they be human, vegetal, or cosmic.  Swatches of newsprint visible below the paint further activate the surface and draw the viewer in.  Orderly lines of text contrast with lyrical branching forms, perhaps raising questions about where different modes of communication – the visual, the verbal, the tactile – meet.

- Gretchen Sinnett, Guest Juror

Ricky Corbett, Emanuele

This portrait captured my attention because it initially provokes confusion about the medium.  Is that photograph across the room actually a drawing?  The beautifully modeled features and convincing play of light across skin, hair and fabric create an illusion of effortlessness.  Looking at the ear made me think about how I tell my students to look at parts of the body that sometimes seem beside the point - joints, ears, fingernails - when assessing how convincingly artists we study depict the human figure.  I appreciated the tension in the sitter ’s slightly furrowed brow and set lips, augmented by the cropped hair, which anchors the figure in the frame.  At what is the figure gazing with that slight look of consternation?   

Robert Beauvais, Untitled #2

I was attracted to the uncanny quality of this print.  Are we looking at a closely cropped human body, a section of landscape, or non-objective forms?   We get a sense of the artist ’s hand in the slightly wavering quality of the outlines, and the nervous energy of the black squiggly lines emerging from the pink crescent activate the image.  The rough edges of the paper visible along the frame undulate slightly as if in response to the dynamic lines.  The print ’s texture – the dappled ivory and stippled charcoal gray - play off the heavy-weight paper ’s nubbly quality.  The scale of the image in contrast with the sheet of paper draws the viewer closer, as if we can solve the mystery if we just lean in.

Sarah Marquesen, The Good Fight 

I found this painting ’s joyful palette infectious.  It made me think about the ways that art not only reflects but can also help shape communities and societies. 

Jack Walsh, Tree Limb

I enjoy the elegant proportions and sinuous incised branches on this vase.  I imagine the soaring birds flickering in the sunlight.

Robert Beauvais, Untitled #3

This photograph made me think of the view through a kaleidoscope.  I like the way the slender birch trees seem to embrace the abstracted core.

Patricia Scialo, Bonsai #1

This work ’s subtle gradations of gray and tactile quality attracted me, and I wanted to find out more about its process.  (I also wanted to touch the waxy, creased surface but restrained myself.)  The dark tonality across the bottom creates a sense of rootedness as we gaze up into the branches and shadowed leaves.  Figure and ground meld as the thrusting branch seems to merge with the silver border along the right side, and the bark ’s essence appears to have infiltrated the surrounding space causing it to buckle and bulge.  The rough edges, with their burnt or melted quality, evoke time ’s vicissitudes as the tree grew up and into its unpredictably gnarled and beautifully melancholy form.  

- Gretchen Sinnett, Guest Juror

Liza Jean Sovie, Kimono

I was drawn to this dress because of the non-traditional material and the way it embodies a series of oppositions.  It is both decorative and functional with the delicacy of the blossoms contrasting with the stiffness of the plastic fabric.  The line of stitched Xs running diagonally from the shoulder to the hem and the opaque cummerbund offset the curving organic lines of the printed flowers.  I imagined the dress as a sort of camouflaged armor; moving through a crowd, the stiff plastic  “fabric” would protect one ’s personal space.  And those dangling buttons would jingle softly as the wearer traversed the room, introducing a multi-sensory element to the piece.  Finally, the semi-transparent plastic made me think of an Alice in Wonderland scenario in which a figure grows out of a greenhouse - arms, legs, and head emerging from a riot of blossoms.

- Gretchen Sinnett, Guest Juror

Thomas Darsney, George

As an historian of American art how could I not be drawn to a painting with a giant George Washington peering out at me, especially since the artist based the visage on Gilbert Stuart ’s iconic  “Athenaeum Portrait?” Situated amongst sculptures from the Greco-Roman cultures whose political systems influenced our nation ’s founders, the President stares out levelly at us.  The prismatic view through the glass display case suggests the shifting quality of historical interpretation.  The intense pink highlights on our first President ’s cheeks stand out amongst the loosely brushed facial features, making me think of pridefulness and shame.  I am reminded that this venerable figure represents our nation ’s highest ideals but also some of our deepest failings.  Unmoored from the plinth, is Washington ’s buoyancy a hopeful sign during a period when many Americans question our nation ’s health?

- Gretchen Sinnett, Guest Juror