Past Presidents Award
Horns
GARY L. WOLFE
PAINTING, 30″ X 24″, 2016
$3000.00
Oil and Encaustic on Tar Paper
Taylor Devices Award
Allison
BRIAN PORTER
PAINTING, 36X30, 2015
$1200.00
Oil on Linen
Sharon Osgood Award
Blue Light Group
KATHLEEN E. DWORAK
PAINTING, 21″ X 28″, 2013
$1200.00
Motorcycle Painting
John and Shelly McKendry Award
Fire Birds
BARBARA FOX
PAINTING, 20X24, 2015
$1200.00
Floral oil on canvas painting
Deborah Hill Painting Studio Award
In This Age
FRANCIS A. NOONAN
PAINTING, 28X32, 2016
$2650.00
oil on panel
The Frame and Save Award
The Sentry #2
KATHLEEN MCDONNELL
PAINTING, 18″ X 24″, 2016
$900.00
Pastel with underpainting on sanded surface
Cheap Joe’s Art Stuff Award
In the summer of 2015 Ken picked the cherries from our tree, I made cherry cheesecake and our dog Annie Vick died
MICHELLE MARCOTTE
PAINTING, 24X30X2, 2016
$750.00
Oil on canvas. 24″x30″x2″.
Hyatt’s: “The Charles and Helen Hyatt Memorial Award”
Autumn
JAMES EAST
PAINTING, 28 X 28X .25, 2016
$800.00
Oil on panel
Juror’s Honorable Mentions
Transcendental Landscape 2
JAN AGATI-ABBARNO
DRAWING, 19 X 23, 2016
$535.00
mixed media drawing using prismacolor pencils
and monotype gel print process
Winged Essence
FRANI EVEDON
PHOTOGRAPHY, 31-1/8″ X 21-1/8″, 2014
$850.00
archival pigment print
Opus
BUNNY LEIGHTON
DRAWING, 31 X 26, 2017
$1200.00
mm: graphite, colored pencil, pastel & watercolor
Unveiling
CINDI O’MARA
DRAWING, 36 X 17 INCHES, 2016
$900.00
colored pencil
Juror’s Statement
Authenticity, craftsmanship, and innovation are the means through which I viewed and analyzed the selections for this year’s exhibition. One of the unique qualities of upstate New York cities, such as Buffalo and the greater Buffalo area, is their unique position within the landscape. Tucked along the edges of the Great Lakes and peppered in-between the rolling hills and farmlands of Upstate New York, these post-industrial, rust belt cities are filled with visually compelling layers of patina and history which are now re-inventing themselves through the creative class. This is changing the way we view and experience our relationship with community and place. Artists are a conduit for experiencing these changes, and offer a lens for us to view and shape our experience and interaction with our communities and the larger world.
The subjects of figure, landscape, object and abstraction resonated in the works reviewed in this year’s competition. Gary Wolf’s painting, “Horns” offers a visually challenging composition reminiscent of the late 20th Century American painter, Jack Beal. My response to Brian Porter’s painting, “Allison” was visceral and genuine as he transposed my own visual experience of his subject where paint became flesh. Kathleen Dworak beautifully merged abstraction with hard-edged realism in her portrayal of industrial, machine made objects, titled, “Blue Light Group”. Francis Noonan, Kathleen McDonnell ad James East all captured the resounding natural beauty of our surrounding landscape. With keen observation, and eloquent execution they achieved a brilliant sense of atmosphere, texture and light. I would be remiss to not mention Michell Macotte’s painting, who fully embodied a sense of authenticity, and had one of the greatest titles in the exhibition.
As the gallery director of a contemporary art gallery, who once was a practicing visual artist, one of my greatest joys is doing studio visits with artists. This is an opportunity for me to get to know the work I am representing on a deeper level, “talk shop”, and understand the deeper context from which the artist is creating it. I connect the dots by bringing this to my curated experience and also in my deeper discussions with collectors and visitors at our gallery. While viewing the nearly 200 selections submitted for this show, I looked at each and every work as if I were doing a studio visit with the artist. It was a joy and an honor to ‘visit’ with them all.
John Brunelli
Director, Anthony Brunelli Fine Arts
Binghamton, NY
