Merced artist Eddie O. Rodriguez next to his ‘Best of Show’ winner ‘Darkest Hour.’
A close up of the award-winning ‘Darkest Hour.’
‘One Nation’ by artist Sue Siefkin.
Artist Mark Knize’s ‘Self-Portrait – 2022.’
Merced’s Jennifer Fosgate won an Honorable Mention for ‘Feather Flight,’ a mixed media collage.
The Carnegie Art Showcase features 88 works selected from 200 local entries.
From more than 200 entries, jurors have selected 88 works that will be on display in the annual Carnegie Art Showcase exhibition taking place this summer at the Carnegie Arts Center in Downtown Turlock.
The juried exhibition is a celebration of artistic excellence, awarding a total of $2,350 in prize money.
The show will be on view in the CAC’s Ferrari Gallery through Sept. 3.
During an artists reception and awards ceremony last Friday, Merced artist Eddie O. Rodriguez won “Best of Show” for his oil on panel painting entitled “Darkest Hour.”
Also, two Merced artists earned honorable mentions, including: Jennifer Fosgate for “Feather Flight,” a mixed media collage; and Kate Jackson for Kuhmiinn A’lkkwenne (Zuni – “Place of the Emergence of the People”), fluid acrylic on canvas.
The annual exhibition was open to entries in all media, which this year included: paintings, watercolors, drawings, stained glass, ceramics, wood, photographs, fiber arts, collage, mixed media, and digital works. CAC Director Lisa McDermott says that the exhibition “represents the wide range of creativity that we find in the visual arts of this region. We are reaching more artists every year and seeing an increasing variety in the works we get to feature.”
She points to the selection of many established local artists for the show, as well as a number of artists who are appearing in the CAC galleries for the first time – and winning awards. “This is what makes the show unique and exciting every year.”
Other local artists in the exhibit include Mercedians Linda Abbott, Amy Bultena, Katherine Crossley, Loren Lukens, and Carole Kamerer; Snelling artist Roberta Gray and Atwater artist Christopher Viney.
Judges for the 2022 Art Showcase included: Lauren Baines, interim director, de Saisset Museum, Santa Clara University; Richard Gomez, painter & faculty member in the Global Arts Studies Program, at UC Merced; and Jake Weigel, multi-disciplinary artist & sculptor, Art Department faculty member, CSU Stanislaus.
Awards of Excellence went to: Mark Knize (Tracy), “Self Portrait 2022,” walnut & liquid amber wood; and Sue Siefkin (Modesto), “One Nation?,” mixed media textile.
Awards of Merit went to: Stephen Abbas (Turlock), “The Weekend Ride,” photograph; Vicki Gaia (Stockton), “Chrysalis,” mixed media on panel; Sara Lankutis (Stockton), “Green Awning – Merced,” acrylic on panel;
and Oscar Robledo (Manteca), “Self Portrait, Jr.,” graphite on paper.
Honorable Mentions went to: Tatiana Aguilera (Patterson), “Meditation on the Spirit of Fire,” acrylic on canvas; Sebastian Ambanloc (Salida), “Eternal Bloom,” digital art printed on canvas; William Harris (Modesto), “Rick,” photograph; and Neil Mitchell (Livermore), “One with Nature,” oil on canvas.
The Carnegie Arts Center is located at 250 N. Broadway in Downtown Turlock. Gallery hours are: Tuesday – Saturday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Admission: $7 general; $5 seniors/students; free for Carnegie members and children 12 & under. Website: carnegieartsturlock.org.