Explore works from up and coming artists with an Ohio connection.
Emerging Artists
Dichotomies in Objects
Contemporary South African Studio Jewelry from Stellenbosch Area presents jewelry designs by 20 South African Artists. the exhibition focus on artists associated with the university of Stellenbosch. Working “within complex political, social and economic context.
Be Our Guest
Showcases Turned Wood Forms by Masters of the Medium and their Guests will showcase turned wood forms by 15 established artists and their “guests” – 30 emerging artists from across the country. Features artists include Christian Burchard, Ron Fleming, Binh Pho, Betty Scarpino, Mark and Jaques Vesery.
Best of 2009
Ohio Designer Craftsmen’s annual juried members’ exhibition, featuring works in clay, fiber, wood, and mixed media.
OHIO DESIGNER CRAFTSMEN ANNOUNCES AWARD WINNERS OF “BEST OF 2009”
(Columbus, OH)—Twelve artists were honored with awards of excellence in Ohio Designer Craftsmen’s 26th annual juried members’ competition, “Best of 2009.” Opening May 3 and continuing through June 21 at the Ohio Craft Museum, the exhibition features 110 works in clay, glass, metal, wood, fiber and mixed media by 79 artists. Juror Wendy H. Outland, an independent curator, arts consultant and president of Who Knows Art, from Asheville, North Carolina, chose the work from over 332 entries by 131 artists. “Within this group of selected images, some artists were chosen for their dedication to time-honored traditions, others for bucking all constraints and offering something new and refreshing,” Outland commented.
“It is a challenging task to whittle down scores of images so the resulting exhibition (not too big, not too small) fits neatly into a predetermined number of square feet,” she added. “Knowing that virtually two out of every three pieces must be eliminated, and that there needs to be a balance of scale and media, the juror sets to work. An enjoyable process for experienced visual arts administrators, this time it was particularly so because I had arrived from the Southeast and was unfamiliar with most of the artists. Try as we may to be impartial, jurors’ brains still present background info about a known artist when we view his/her work.”
Outland chose award winners as well: The $1000 Challenge Award for Excellence—the exhibition’s top prize—went to metals artists David and Roberta Williamson for a body of work. “David and Roberta Williamson are outstanding in their field, the composition of every piece a marvel,” Outland stated. Ceramics artist William Brouillard of Cleveland received the Watkins Printing Poster Award for Excellence for Red Octopus Fish Bowl, and Toledo glass artist Monica Chapon received the Postcard Award for Excellence for Some Days are Good. Winners of cash awards are (name, title of work, award): Lisa Wilson, Particle Wave No. 2, Pamela Morris Thomford Award for Excellence in Metals;
Mary Pearse, Feeding Desire, To Have and To Hold, and One Pearl, Many Pleasures, Jane H. Zimmerman Award for Excellence in Body of Work; Susanne Gregg, The Gathering, Ruth Lantz Award for Excellence in Fiber; Susan Shie, The Food Scales/Justice: Card #11 in the Kitchen Tarot, Quilt Surface Design International Ltd. Award; Derek Reeverts, Hen House, Brian Lonsway Memorial Award for Humor in Craft; Sandra Gross, Continuum, Dominick Labino Memorial Award for Excellence in Glass; Caroline Kelley, Leaf Bowl, Barbara Robinson Award for Excellence in Traditional Craft; Sumiko Takada, Inlaid Vase #3, Friends of Phyllis Clark Award for Excellence in Functional Ceramics; and Chelsey Radabaugh, Reflections, Banded Cups Overseas, and Ephemeral Pleasures: Blue, Emerging Craftsman Award.
Award winners will be honored during the exhibition’s opening reception, to be held May 3 at the Ohio Craft Museum from 1 to 4 p.m. At this time, we will also present Ohio Designer Craftsmen’s annual Outstanding Achievement Award, which acknowledges the craftsmanship, leadership or patronage of an individual or institution in the field of fine craft.
This year’s recipient is Tom Muir, a metals artist and chair of the jewelry and metalsmithing department at Bowling Green State University. Since the beginning of his teaching career, Muir has actively supported his students in their pursuit of a career in metals. In fact, several former students’ pieces, along with Muir’s own work, will be shown in the “Best of 2009.” For his efforts, Muir was recently nominated for the Distinguished Teaching Professor Award at Bowling Green. While busy with teaching, Muir still finds time for his own work, which can be found in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago; the Renwick Gallery of the National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution; and the White House Collection of American Crafts, National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. He is the recipient of an Arts Midwest/National Endowment for the Arts Regional Artist Fellowship, Michigan Council for the Arts Fellowship, and a number of Ohio Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship Awards.
After closing at the Ohio Craft Museum, the exhibition will travel to the Southern Ohio Museum in Portsmouth, where it will be on view July 3–August 26, then on to the Mansfield Art Center, where it can be seen from September 13–October 25, and finally to the Wayne Center for the Arts in Wooster, November 12–December 19.
The Ohio Craft Museum is located at 1665 West Fifth Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43212. Hours: Monday–Friday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Saturday–Sunday, 1–4 p.m., during exhibitions only. Admission and parking are free. Telephone (614) 486-4402, or see our website www.ohiocraft.org, for further information. The museum is owned and operated by Ohio Designer Craftsmen and receives ongoing funding from the Greater Columbus Arts Council, Ohio Arts Council and the Columbus Foundation.
The Infinite Teapot
Over 50 functional teapots as well as nonfunctional teapot forms by contemporary artists working in clay, glass, metal and fiber will be presented in this curated exhibition by Kay Koeninger. On view through March 29, the exhibition showcases work by such nationally known artists as Ron Meyer, Tom and Elaine Coleman, Rimas VisGarda, Susan Ewing, Arthur Liestman, JoAnne Russo and Jeff Oestreich.
Second Nature: Art From Recycled Materials Inspired by Animals, Plants and Insects
The exhibitions features work by nearly 25 artists from across the United States. Everything from old buttons and tin cans to bicycle spokes, linoleum pieces and rubber tires make up the work.
Conversations in Fabric
Contemporary quilts that commnunicate through color, texture and imagery, as well as through incoporations of the written word are featured in 26 works by 25 artists from across the United States and Canada. Curated by Linda Fowler and Tracy Rieger, co-directors of Quilt Surface Design.
Far from the tree: An Evolutionary View of Contemporary Woodturning
Nearly 30 works by 29 woodturners, including pioneering artists in the field, such as Mel Lindquist, Rude Osolnik and Bob Stocksdale, and contemporary artists, such as Willian Hunter, Mark Lindquist and Christian Buchard. Co- curated by Jacques Vesery, wood artist, and Kelvin Wallace , curator, author and director of the Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts, Ojai, California. Organized by the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship.
