70th Annual Wabash Valley Juried Exhibition

June 28 – August 23, 2014

Haslem, Hodge and Gallery Three
Sponsored by:  First Financial Bank

Events: Reception June 28, 3-5 p.m.

From Carter Foster:

Portrait (detail) by Sergio Coppi
Portrait (detail) by Sergio Coppi

Surrealism is alive and well. Whether through startling disjunctions of scale, eerie elimination of detail, strange juxtapositions, or simply playful twists on observed reality, many of the artists I chose for this year’s exhibition find endless richness in tinkering with the world while remaining fully part of it, without resorting to abstraction. Some mined their psyches or that of an imagined other quite playfully and optimistically, without the darker undercurrents often common in this type of work. On the other hand, the terror of the mind’s unknown or blacker recesses was not feared at all by others. Art has the privilege of distance, bringing even the unspeakable to our protected selves.

Surrealism is alive here in painting in particular, though some of the most intriguing examples are three-dimensional, with a fetishistic, reliquary-like quality that is appealing and original.

Painting’s elasticity and durability was also a strong constant. I was thrilled to see such a thriving community of oil painters. The medium’s demise is always overstated – its flexibility and practicality means that once one master’s its technical basics, endless interesting riffs are possible, and there was no shortage of that among the rich trove of image types submitted to this exhibition. The long tradition of exploring pictorial space and finding a tension between flatness and depth is richly apparent and beautifully mined with much variety.

It was heartening in general to find an interest in mastering the craft of making, whatever the medium. Ceramics is clearly having its moment in Indiana as with the rest of the world – it seems to be thriving everywhere these days, laudably so. I also enjoyed seeing certain artists push the use of language and the body, a mini-theme for this show.

In a world truly saturated with images, in which the image seems to be overtaking and ruling so many aspects of our daily lives, and over which we seem to have less and less control, even while gaining more and more access, it is a real pleasure to find those who are willing to take control themselves and use imagination
fearlessly and with great confidence.

Award Winners

Howard E. Wooden, Sr. Memorial Best of Show Prize
Study in Light and Form: The Civic Opera Bldg. from the Chicago River, 2013, graphite on paper
Jack Nixon, Wilmette, IL
Quinquagenary Grand Prize in Painting Given in Honor of Emily and John Gedrick upon 50 years of marriage, August 15, 2014 by their children and grandchildren
“I’m Sorry, I Love You,”, 2012, oil, enamel and pearlescent powder on canvas
Jason Krueger, Terre Haute, IN
Phyllis Dye Turner Award of Excellence in honor of Elizabeth Petrulis
Sisters, 2013, oil on canvas
John DenHouter, Edwardsville, IL
Alliance of the Swope Award of Distinction
Blue Sea Form, 2014, marbled porcelain
Karen Page, Terre Haute, IN
Alliance of the Swope Award of Honor
Last Respects: Reliquary, 2013, stoneware
Cathleen Hogan, Terre Haute, IN
Anonymous Award of Recognition
Passages, 2013, encaustic, cheesecloth, copper wire
Alicia Forestall-Boehm, Chicago, IL
Arts Illiana Award of Recognition
Refuge Mask, 2013, wood, paint, plastic, metal
Rob Millard-Mendez, Evansville, IN
Mary Ann Carroll Award of Recognition
Paint by Numbers, 2013, hand-stamped ink
John Davidson, Terre Haute, IN
Sherry Dailey & Tom Tucker Award of Recognition in memory of Shirley W. Bennett
the Numbers series, 2014, 25 laser-cut acrylic lettering pieces with steel balls
Gautam Rao, Indianapolis, IN
Emily and John Jr. Gedrick Award of Recognition
To Build a Fire, 2014, encaustic on panel
Korinne Lee, Terre Haute, IN
Max Gibson Award of Recognition
Corey, 2013, oil on canvas
Nancy Nichols-Pethick, Terre Haute, IN
Sharron R. Jolly Award of Recognition in memory of Wanda “Tink” Boyd
Black Shoes, 2013, oil on canvas
Ben Madeska, Chicago, IL
Harriet McNeal Award of Recognition
Useless Thing #6113, 2013, plastic hobby horse, antique lawn mower handle, antique film negative box, tempered glass, sewn cloth, bowling pins, plexi, hardware, paint, stain
Michael R. Tingley, Terre Haute, IN
Nancy and Fred Nation Award of Recognition
All My Lovely Ladies, 2013, fused glass, steel stand
Erin Alise Blitz, Charleston, IL
Eileen and Ted Prose Award of Recognition in honor of Susie Dewey
The Subdivision, 2012, oil on canvas
Courtland Blade, Indianapolis, IN
Psi Iota Xi Sorority ETA PHI Chapter Award of Recognition
A Second Chance, 2013, chicken wire, string, acetate film, aluminum, foam, wood
Sean Renkert, Ferndale, MI
Candy and Rick Shagley Award of Recognition
Years Book, 2014, linoleum prints mounted on wood
Kathleen Laufman, Plymouth, MI
Barbara A. Vogel Award of Recognition
Right Hand of David, 2013, porcelain cone 10 reduction
Larry Jones, Terre Haute, IN
Joan and David Zaun Award of Recognition
I’d Rather Be Making Art, 2013, steel wood soap pads and mixed media
Suzanne Finn, Terre Haute, IN
The Michael D. Buzash Annual Artistic Award of Merit
It’s a Bell, 2012, cast bronze
Dorothy Bennett, Charleston, IL
Danette Angermeier Memorial Award of Merit from the DAM Fund at the Wabash Valley Community Foundation
Don’t Touch Baby, 2013, platinum over giclee
Richard Jurus, Dayton, OH
Anonymous Purchase Awards
land light, 2013, oil on canvas
Dan Annarino, West Lafayette, IN
Shanghai Bearden, 2013, collage, mixed media
Tina Lynch Wilson, Indianapolis, IN
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Purchase Awards
Demolition by Hand, 2014, colored pencil
Neil Garrison, Terre Haute, IN
Empty House: Window, 2013, photograph
Olivia Hinkel, Shelburn, IN
People’s Choice Award Sponsored by the Alliance of the Swope
To be determined

Additional Accepted Artists and Works

Dan Annarino, West Lafayette, IN
at the corner, 2013, oil on canvas
Jamar Baker, Terre Haute, IN
By the Hill Side, 2013, photograph
Dorothy Bennett, Charleston, IL
Hollow Rings, 2013, sterling silver, Nu Gold
Courtland Blade, Indianapolis, IN
The ATMs, 2012, oil on canvas
Dellon Blanton, Brazil, IN
Door Knockers, 0, steel, brass, wood
Erin Alise Blitz, Charleston, IL
Sacred Song, 2013, fused glass, aluminum
Edwin Cheek, Bloomington, IN
Power Parade, 2014, oil on panel
Ray Chen, Terre Haute, IN
In Between, 2012, stoneware, earthenware
David Cunningham, Indianapolis, IN
Birth of the Cosmos, 2013, oil on panel
Erin Eveland, Rushville, IL
ROAR!, 2013, oil on canvas panel
Suzanne Finn, Terre Haute, IN
Torso I, 2012, ceramic & copper wire
Morgan Ford Willingham, Vincennes, IN
Untitled 4, 2013, metallic C-print
Untitled 9, 2014, metallic C-print
Alicia Forestall-Boehm, Chicago, IL
Unfulfilled Dream, 2013, encaustic, cheesecloth hand-dyed by artist, twine, wire, found metal
Olivia Hinkel, Shelburn, IN
Armored 1, 2014, cut paper (metallic) on painted wood panel
Cathleen Hogan, Terre Haute, IN
Dysfunction, 2013, stoneware
Ginger in Gingko, 2013, stoneware
Linda Janosko, Terre Haute, IN
#5190, 2013, digital photograph
Kelly Joslin, Dayton, OH
Charles, 2013, giclee print
Waking Dream, 2014, giclee print
Wish You Were Here, 2013, giclee print
Jason Krueger, Terre Haute, IN
Idebtity: Loss and Regret on the Floor of the Stock Exchange III, 2014, walnut ink on paper
Tina Lynch Wilson, Indianapolis, IN
A Vision, 2013, paper and found object collage
Benjamin Madeska, Chicago, IL
Ribeye with Sweet Pea, 2013, oil on canvas
Short Rib, 2014, oil on linen
Rob Millard-Mendez, Evansville, IN
Climate Change Plan B Boat, 2013, wood, paint, plastic, coal, moss
Michael D. Neary, Lebanon, IL
Caledonia Street Study, 2012, oil on paper on board
Karen Page, Terre Haute, IN
Sea Food Platter, 2014, porcelain
Roger Pfingston, Bloomington, IN
Bronc Buster, 2013, archival inkjet print
Michael Pittman, Evansville, IN
Parade, 2014, painted collage
Gautam Rao, Indianapolis, IN
Indianapolis Track, 2013, laser-cut acrylic, steel balls
Lindy Reeves, Terre Haute, IN
Childhood Indoctrination, 2012, oil paint
Sentient, 2012, ceramic
Robert Schwieger, Plainfield, IL
Factory Fantasy, 2013, screenprint monotype reverse applied on glass
Orie Shafer, West Lafayette, IN
Earth Observation: The Earth as a Geometric Solid, 2013, oil, pastel, pencil, enamel, board
Emily K. Short, Archbold, OH
Waiting, 2014, woodcut
Temre Stanchfield, West Lafayette, IN
Tuesday, 2013, oil on canvas
Kerra Taylor, Carbondale, IL
The Child Within, 2014, oil on canvas
Peggy Woodcock, Bloomington, IN
Karen Tribewoman, Thailand, 2013, archival ink print