Arts & Science Center announces selections for 2021 Irene Rosenzweig Juried Biennial Exhibition

Art Show Recognizes Up-and-Coming, Established Artists in Mid-South; Awards Set for July 22

The Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas (ASC) has announced the selections for the 2021 Irene Rosenzweig Biennial Juried Exhibition. The show opens Thursday, July 22, 2021, at ASC with an awards reception from 5–7 p.m. The reception is free and open to the public, but due to social distancing measures, capacity will be capped at 75 people.

Juror Deidre Argyle will announce the awards at 5:30 p.m. The prizes are Best of Show ($1,000), First Place ($500), Second Place ($200), and three Merit Awards ($100 each). There is also an opportunity for ASC to purchase exhibition pieces to add to its permanent collection.

The exhibition is supported in part by the Irene Rosenzweig Endowment Fund, the Arkansas Arts Council and National Endowment for the Arts. The reception is sponsored by ASC’s volunteer group Art Krewe and M.K. Distributors.

Open to ages 18 and older, the exhibition welcomes submissions from artists in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. Artwork in traditional forms are accepted: Paintings, drawings, original prints, fiber art, ceramics, sculpture and photography.

The 34 artists selected for the 2021 exhibition are:

• Susan Chambers of Little Rock, Arkansas
• Louise M. Halsey of Ozark, Arkansas
• Yelena Petroukhina of Little Rock, Arkansas
• Laura Brainard Raborn of Little Rock, Arkansas
• Sabine Schmidt of Fayetteville, Arkansas
• Kasten McClellan Searles of Little Rock, Arkansas
• Derek R. Slagle of Little Rock, Arkansas
• Maria Botti Villegas of El Dorado, Arkansas
• Anna Wagner of Cabot, Arkansas
• Anna Zusman of Magnolia, Arkansas
• Samantha Rosado of Baton Rouge, Louisiana
• Cynthia Buob of Columbus, Mississippi
• Anna Hite of Oxford, Mississippi
• Joe Morzuch of Starkville, Mississippi
• Jacob Rowan of Jackson, Mississippi
• Joshua Newth of Cape Girardeau, Missouri
• Kerra Taylor of Springfield, Missouri
• Katrinka Booth of Tulsa, Oklahoma
• Chris Ramsay of Stillwater, Oklahoma
• Jessica Teckemeyer of Stillwater, Oklahoma
• Kelly Ann Temple of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
• Becky Blackburn of Memphis, Tennessee
• Jessica Fife of Nashville, Tennessee
• Jason Terry Stout of Martin, Tennessee
• Madison Branch of Longview, Texas
• Nabil Gonzalez of El Paso, Texas
• Sibylle Hagmann of Houston, Texas
• David Hill of Corpus Christi, Texas
• Erika Jaeggli of Dallas, Texas
• AnneMarie Johnson of Irving, Texas
• Donna M. Meeks of Beaumont, Texas
• Alejandro Ramirez of Robstown, Texas
• Veronica Vaughan of Flower Mound, Texas
• Merrie Wright of Whitehouse, Texas

ASC received more than 350 artwork submissions, from which juror Deirdre Argyle chose 37.

“It was a wonderful experience to see the diversity of work in the mid-South region,” Argyle said. “While selecting work for the exhibition, it became clear that many artists were dealing with subject matter centered around place, time and memory. I chose works for this exhibition that reflected the region’s present and past, and its social and geographic history.”

She continued, “It was important to me to include a range of works that covered a breadth of concepts and topics within the theme of the exhibition and that also represented a large variety of media and technical approaches in the production of the work. The work included in the exhibition speaks to the daily social fabric of the region through personal narrative, landscape, social and political themes expressed in the artworks.”

Argyle is assistant professor of sculpture at Missouri State University, in Springfield. She earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in sculpture in 2002 from the University of Arizona, in Tucson. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in studio art in 1999 from San Jose State University in San Jose, California.

“Rosenzweig is an opportunity for established and up-and-coming artists to gain recognition and earn prizes, for community members to explore and purchase work, and for ASC to grow its permanent collection,” said ASC Curator Chaney Jewell. “This year, the public, as well as ASC, are being presented with masterful works. The artworks selected by juror Deidre Argyle are truly exemplary,” Jewell said.

The biennial exhibition began with a gift from the Irene Rosenzweig Foundation 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 2021 Irene Rosenzweig Biennial Juried Exhibition will remain on view in ASC’s William H. Kennedy Jr. Gallery through Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021. Admission to ASC’s galleries is always free.

About ASC

The Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas (ASC), 701 S. Main St. in Pine Bluff, is accredited with 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 Tuesday–Friday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.

Support for ASC is provided in part by the Arkansas Arts Council —  a division of the Department of Arkansas Heritage, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Pine Bluff Advertising & Promotion Commission, and the City of Pine Bluff.

Featured image: “Kids Go Bump in the Night” by Kerra Taylor of Springfield, Missouri; oil on canvas; 43 1/2 inches by 37 1/4 inches by 2 1/2 inches; 2018. Taylor’s artwork is one of 37 selected for the 2021 Irene Rosenzweig Biennial Juried Exhibition at The Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas.