Arts & Science Center Announces Selections for 2023 Irene Rosenzweig Biennial Juried Exhibition

The Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas (ASC) has announced the selections for its “2023 Irene Rosenzweig Biennial Juried Exhibition.” The show opens Thursday, July 20, 2023, at ASC’s home building, 701 S. Main St., with an awards reception from 5–7 p.m. Juror Dr. Rachel Trusty will present the awards at 6. The reception is free and open to the public.

The 35 artists with works selected are:

• Leslie Alvarez of Springfield, Missouri, “Bloom Nature,” digital art
• Stuart Asprey of Norman, Oklahoma, “Snackie Cake Superhero Platter,” ceramic
• Jennifer Barnett of Little Rock, Arkansas, “Memory Dance,” photograph
• Peter Barnitz of Kenner, Louisiana, “Dissection of Space,” mixed media
• Becky Blackburn of Memphis, Tennessee, “How The Story Ends,” ceramic
• Jason Bly of Wichita Falls, Texas, “Norepinephrine,” painting
• Carley Brown of Little Rock, Arkansas, “Feeling Lucky?,” painting
• Danqi Cai of Knoxville, Tennessee, “The Atomic Boy,” monotype and watercolor
• Adaja Cooper of Mabelvale, Arkansas, “Bug Has The Hose Now,” painting
• Melissa Cowper-Smith of Morrilton, Arkansas, “Whispers Borrowed,” mixed media
• Tim Cribbs of Bentonville, Arkansas, “The Wild Burns at Night,” digital print on canvas
• Kelsey Duncan of Nashville, Tennessee, “Onyx,” stoneware and mixed media
• Kurt Dyrhaug of Beaumont, Texas, “Vertical Tonka Wing,” cast iron and enamel
• Paige Ellens of Memphis, Tennessee, “Cowboy in Solitude,” painting
• Patrick Fleming of Roland, Arkansas, “Mother Earth I,” painting on dimensional canvas
• Elizabeth Fontenot of Beaumont, Texas, “Rising,” mixed media
• Nabil Gonzalez of El Paso, Texas, “Blackout of The American Dream (Series 1-8),” mixed media
• Chris Hurtado of El Paso, Texas, “Automatic Graffiti,” porcelain
• Crystal Jennings of Rison, Arkansas, “Catalyst,” charcoal drawing
• Lisa Krannichfeld of Little Rock, Arkansas, “Hold On, Let Go,” mixed media
• Vincent Marie of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, “I’m Tired,” mixed media
• Dennis McCann of Maumelle, Arkansas, “Girl Talk,” pastel
• Donna M Meeks of Beaumont, Texas, “(American Dream) #9,” mixed media
• Stacey Monteleone of Oxford, Mississippi, “Let’s Dance,” painting
• Erik Ordaz of Nacogdoches, Texas, “N.I.N.J.A.,” ceramic
• Rachel Perry of Lafayette, Louisiana, “Behind the Warehouse,” painting
• Yelena Petroukhina of Little Rock, Arkansas, “Blindly Forward,” ceramic
• Tom Richard of Monticello, Arkansas, “Bubble Gum on Art (Giotto/FraAngelica/Daumier),” mixed media
• Debra Roberson of Shreveport, Louisiana, “Cotton Field: The Overseer,” photograph and mixed media
• Wesley Roden of Signal Mountain, Tennessee, “Loose Cannon,” painting
• Blake Sanders of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, “Anywhere I Lay My Head (version 3),” mixed media
• Jennifer Smay of Fayetteville, Arkansas, “One goes this way, one goes that way,” ­­­drawing
• Sarah Stobbe of Arlington, Tennessee, “Hand-me-down,” ceramic
• Holden Sutton of Allen, Texas, “Head in the Ceiling Fan,” painting
• Stephen Zhang of Plano, Texas, “perverted CONnections,” drawing

The exhibition welcomes submissions from artists in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. Artwork in traditional and digital forms are accepted, including paintings, drawings, original prints, fiber art, ceramics, sculpture, photography, video and digital work.

The awards are Best in Show ($1,000), First Place ($500), Second Place ($200), and three Merit Awards ($100 each). Purchase awards are also available, allowing ASC to add works from the exhibition to its permanent collection. ASC received 594 artwork submissions by 315 artists, from which Trusty chose 35.

“I was incredibly impressed by the quality and breadth of all the work,” Trusty said. “Choosing only 35 pieces from over 500 entries was difficult, and I want to celebrate everyone who entered. When selecting pieces for the show, I had two main criteria. First, that the work demonstrated excellence in technique, and second, that the work was innovative and pushed what we consider to be ‘art’ forward through media, theme, or both.”

Trusty is an artist, educator, and curator. She is a visiting assistant professor of women’s and gender studies at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Trusty has a Ph.D. and a Master of Arts degree in women, gender, and sexuality studies from the University of Kansas (2022 and 2020); a Master of Fine Arts degree from Lesley College in Boston (2011); and a Bachelor of Arts degree in sculpture and art education from the University of Central Arkansas in Conway (2006).

The biennial exhibition began with a gift from the Irene Rosenzweig Foundation to ASC in 1992. Born in Pine Bluff in 1903, Rosenzweig was a noted scholar and teacher. She earned a doctoral degree from Bryn Mawr College, studied in Rome, and was fluent in six languages. Rosenzweig tutored President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s family members during their time in the White House. She died in 1997.

The exhibition will be on view in ASC’s William H. Kennedy Jr. Gallery through Saturday, Oct. 14. Admission to ASC’s galleries is always free. The exhibition is supported in part by The Arts & Science Center Endowment Fund and the Irene Rosenzweig Endowment Fund. The reception is sponsored by ASC’s volunteer group Art Krewe and M.K. Distributors.

About ASC

The Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas (ASC), 701 S. Main St. in Pine Bluff, is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. ASC presents programming in the visual arts, performing arts, and the sciences through exhibits, performances, classes and local partnerships. Gallery admission is free. ASC is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday–Friday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. In 2021, ASC opened two additional facilities as part of its “ARTx3” campus — The ARTSpace on Main and ART WORKS on Main, at 623 and 627 S. Main St. For more information, visit asc701.org or call 870-536-3375.

Support for ASC is provided in part by the ASC Endowment Fund, the City of Pine Bluff, the Pine Bluff Advertising & Promotion Commission and the Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the Division of Arkansas Heritage and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional operating support is provided in part by the Windgate Foundation, Ben J. Altheimer Foundation, Kline Family Foundation, Relyance Bank and Simmons Bank.

Featured image:  “Anywhere I Lay My Head (version 3)” by Blake Sanders of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, is one of the 35 artworks selected for the “2023 Irene Rosenzweig Biennial Juried Exhibition.” (Screenprint on repurposed fabric, appliqué & reverse appliqué stitching, and salvaged plastic grocery sacks; 2022.)