Art St. Louis XXXV, The Exhibition

Art St. Louis XXXV, The Exhibition November 9 - December 23, 2019. FREE opening reception Saturday, November 9, 5-7 p.m.

Please join Art Saint Louis for Art St. Louis XXXV, The Exhibition featuring new artworks by 52 St. Louis regional artists.

CLOSING SOON - Final day to see is Monday, December 23. Art St. Louis XXXV, The Exhibition is our 35th annual juried visual art exhibition featuring artworks in all media, all subjects, all styles, all themes, and all techniques. For this year's exhibit, over 523 artworks in all media were submitted by 129 St. Louis regional artists for consideration by Juror Jason Bly, from which he selected artworks by 52 artists from Missouri, Illinois and Indiana for the final exhibition. This year's 35th annual exhibit includes artworks in a variety of media, including ceramics, collage, drawing, encaustic, glass, handmade paper, mixed media, painting, pastels, photography, printmaking, pyrography, scratchboard, sculpture, textiles, and more. HEC-TV spotlights Art St. Louis XXXV, The Exhibition The exhibit is presented November 9 through December 23, 2019. Please join us for our free opening reception on Saturday, November 9, 5-7 p.m. We will have a brief Awards Judge Gallery Talk with announcements & Awards presentation at 6 p.m. during our reception. Regular gallery hours are Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-4 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Closed Sundays & Thanksgiving holiday & weekend November 28-December 1. We invite you to view images of all of the artworks featured in this exhibit in our Facebook album here. After the show opens we will post photo highlights from the opening reception. "Art St. Louis XXXV" Juror Jason Bly.We are very honored to have the opportunity to work with artist Jason Bly as our Juror for this year's exhibit. Artist and art educator Jason Bly resides in Wichita Falls, TX where he is Assistant Professor of Art at Midwestern State University teaching painting and drawing (since 2017). Previous experience includes teaching at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (2009-2017) and Lewis and Clark Community College (2009-2017).  Bly also served as Director of Exhibitions at the Edwardsville Arts Center (2013-2017), a non-profit gallery which hosts regional shows and offers educational opportunities. His paintings have been exhibited in solo, invitational, and juried shows, primarily throughout the Midwest and Southern U.S. He holds his MFA in painting from SIUE (2007) and MA and BA degrees from Eastern Illinois University (2003, 2004). "Art St. Louis XXXV" Awards Judge Shannon BaileyAwards for this exhibition will be selected by Shannon Bailey. Shannon Bailey is Chief Curator, World Chess Museum, St. Louis, MO (since 2010). Bailey holds a BA in Art History and Museum Studies from Juniata College, Huntingdon, PA (1999) and MA from Case Western Reserve University/ Cleveland Museum of Art Joint Program in Art History & Museum Studies (2000). Previously she served as Director of Institutional Giving (2009-2010) and Manager of Institutional Giving (2008-2009) at Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, St. Louis, MO (2008-2010); Gallery Director, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, TX (2005-2007); Researcher, Huntingdon County Historical Society, Huntingdon, PA (1999-2000);and Assistant Director of Campus Activities, Juniata College, Huntingdon, PA (1999-2000). She has also served as Adjunct Professor for Saint Louis University, Stephen F. Austin State University, Cuyahoga Community College, and Lecturer, Cleveland University. As a Curator, she has created over 25 exhibitions for World Chess Museum and 17 exhibits for Stephen F. Austin State University's Griffith Gallery and The Cole Center @ The Old Opera House. Shannon has juried several exhibitions in the Midwest region.

PARKING RECOMMENDATIONS
There are parking METERS on Pine Street and Olive Street & other nearby streets. Parking meters run 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. Monday—Saturday. Fines are steep ($20), so don't let your meter expire. If you park at a meter for our reception, remember that meters operate in downtown until 7 p.m. on Saturday. For additional parking suggestions, click here. You can also download the handy Parkmobile app, whereby you can monitor & pay your St. Louis city parking meter via your mobile phone.

Hourly parking is available in the PARK PACIFIC GARAGE on Olive just West of Tucker. Parking is at your own expense. For garage parking, pay by credit via the machine in elevator bay no more than 15 minutes prior to departure OR pay by credit upon exiting the garage (at the gate). Be sure to take your parking receipt/ticket with you when you exit your car to visit the Gallery or you won't be able to reenter the garage to get to your car. Your parking ticket is your key to get back in to the garage. Art Saint Louis does not validate parking.

The Gallery is easily accessible by PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION with MetroLink and MetroBus with MetroBus stops on Olive Street and Tucker right near the building.

 The 52 featured artists in Art St. Louis XXXV are:

Juror's Statement
  "It is an honor and pleasure to be a part of such a long standing tradition. As a mere passenger on this 35-year trip, it has always been a privilege to show at Art Saint Louis as an exhibiting artist, and now, a welcome experience in viewing so much talent as juror. I wish to thank all involved at Art St Louis for this opportunity. Thanks especially to the many artists who submitted works. I thank you for allowing me to know you through your work. With all the artworks in this show, I am able to connect with someone through their time, energy, life experience, creativity, and care. All of this serves as a reminder that any work consists of more than the materials of its production.
  Several thoughts factored into selecting the work in Art St. Louis XXXV, The Exhibition. The first of these criteria is what can be best referred to as an “access point” for the eye to enter into the piece. Are there any elements that engage the viewer, needing to be examined more? In visual art, we think that we see everything all at once, but this is not true. We slowly unpack information beyond the first glance. Some elements invite us in, guiding through a more complex series of intrigue and investigation.
  After that initial attraction to a work of art, a number of questions arise. Several of these thoughts while reviewing and jurying works for this show rest on the relationship between the formal, technical, and conceptual. While conversation of line, shape, color, texture, value, and space seem remedial, they really do matter. Do the formal languages present best serve the intended idea? While the artist performs the actions, these decisions are often driven by the artwork itself. The artist is in constant collaboration with the materials, finding together the perfect combination of construction, technical achievement, and formal inquiry. This is one of the beauties of art, that a single problem may be perfectly resolved with so many distinct solutions.
  Through craft and formal decisions, there is a hint of its maker—marks left by the tools of the trade, some overt, others hidden. Through the use of materials there is an understood action taking place. The artist performs. In some works, this performance may be subtle, even hidden. In others, it is forthcoming, loud, unmistakable in its presence. Both the hidden and overt methodologies are choices, and I find both intriguing. In every case, I think upon the performance of each artist.
  When viewing the submissions, I felt it important to choose artwork that would, in some way, lend itself to a greater audience the multitude of feelings, actions, reactions, meditations, and otherwise hidden responses to the here and now. The work is an extension of Us, and we are capable of many voices and many connections to our surroundings. In this manner, the work is one large story, with visual parallels, narrative complements, and cross pollination of media choices. Within that story are several chapters, each one compelling on its own, and each should be recognized as one part of a life each artist has chosen to reveal to us.”

— Jason Bly
artist, Assistant Professor of Art,
Midwestern State University, Wichita Falls, TX
September 2019

Awards Judge Statement
  “It was an honor to serve as Awards Judge for Art St. Louis XXXV, The Exhibition. Jason Bly did an amazing job choosing a great blend of talent, media, and subject matter. I really appreciated those artists who provided an artist’s statement, offering the viewer a deeper understanding of the artistic process. I do also respect artists who want "you to figure it out" but I love getting into the mind of artists. It was a very difficult process to narrow down the pieces for the Awards.
  I found Mark Appling Fisher's photographic work to be so delightfully creepy. I loved the fogginess and the vintage-looking pieces. I was drawn to it because the scene is supposed to be filled with color and upbeat songs...yet he creates (what I thought) was an either apocalyptic scene or horror movie...it was close to Halloween when I was viewing this! I found the title to be close to home because when I take my daughter to fairs or carnivals, I end up slipping my daughter extra bucks to play these awful games (when my husband isn’t looking) that are almost impossible to win! 
  Christina McNealy’s sculpture “Containment” was so impressive. I was amazed at first glance how beautiful it was and then you looked at the materials and realized what it was. I absolutely fear blood and it makes me lightheaded when I see it...I cannot look at blood when I have it drawn and I sweat when I see those vials. My husband is an avid blood and platelet, and granulocytes donor. He's among an extremely small amount of the population that can donate a particular type of platelets to cancer victims and I admire so much people that have medical conditions or are not afraid of blood! My daughter holds my hand when I get shots and she loves blood! I was taken aback by the push-pull of a substance that can seem "unclean" paired with a beautiful vase. The juxtaposition of the glass vials and the glass of the vase I thought was very clever. I never interpreted the artist’s blood to be "unclean.” I was impressed with thinking how in today’s age we are supposed to fear blood and can think about the implications of interacting with someone else’s blood. I admire Christina who chooses to share something so intimate with the public. I'm still amazed they let her keep the vials!
  Alex Paradowski’s handmade paper work is so beautiful. I couldn't take my eyes off of the texture and what the process must have been to create it. I love his modern interpretation of a mosaic. I was just recently at the Pompeii exhibit and have always had a love for the idea of the mosaic process and I also love puzzles. I thought it was well thought out and very serene. I also thought of the Impressionists...where you can see something abstract up close, but have to stand back to really see the beauty of the final inception.
  Diane Reislng’s painting I just found to be so peaceful and beautiful. I love seeing the texture of paint and I felt like I could stare at the piece for an hour and meditate or find different scenes in it. It reminded me of a Turner painting.
  Bob Rickert’s photograph immediately spoke to me. I'm obsessed with black and white photography and I'm also a huge fan of Franz Klein and old photos of early architecture, especially in big cities. Bernice Abbott is one of my favorite photographers. I also really enjoyed the composition and how the background was treated.
  Anthony Scheffler’s “Purple Tea”: I love amazing design. I love mid-century/mod design. I love Frank Lloyd Wright. I really like Michael Graves, and I love tea! I thought it was really nicely designed and I was very drawn to it. I thought it was the strongest 3-D piece in the exhibit. I want to exhibit in my house! It looks so well crafted and I really love the shapes used and the different colors represented.
Jerry Walters... I'm always deeply impressed with the process of woodcuts. And I was impressed with his scale. The detail was so beautifully portrayed. I just closed up my big Escher exhibition so I've got woodcuts on my mind and I thought he had the best print in the bunch.”

— Shannon Bailey
Chief Curator, World Chess Hall of Fame, St. Louis, MO
November 2019

Highlights from our December 7 Gallery Talk with artists Lorraine Cange, Chuck Ramsay, Lydia Wood, and Niles Zee. Photos by Robin Hirsch-Steinhoff.SPECIAL EVENT
COFFEE WITH THE ARTISTS: SATURDAY GALLERY TALK
Saturday, December 7, 10-11:15 a.m.    FREE

Please join us at Art Saint Louis on Saturday, December 7, at 10 a.m. and meet four of the featured artists in Art St. Louis XXXV, The Exhibition. Guests can enjoy complimentary coffee tastings courtesy of Catalyst Coffee Bar while the artists talk about their works on view in the exhibit, discuss the media that they use and the various techniques that they apply to making their form of artwork. The artists may also bring in samples of their other works or also present a demo of their particular media & techniques. Guests will walk with the artists through the Gallery as they talk about their works on view in the exhibition. This event is FREE & open to the public.

Meet the following 4 featured artists on December 9:
•  Lorraine Cange, photography
•  Chuck Ramsay, photography
•  Lydia Wood, painting
•  Niles Zee, photography

 Some of the 52 artworks featured in Art St. Louis XXXV, The Exhibition:

Sarah Smelser, Bloomington, IL. “Ballinglen XIII.” 2016. Monotype on Paper, 29”x24”. $1,400.	Donna Broyles, Alton, IL. “Sol Soul.” 2018. Woven Lace, Hairpin Crochet, Natural & Synthetic Fibers, 42.5”x42.5”. $8,000.	Nathan Smith, Edwardsville, IL. “Identity.” 2018. Pencil, Charcoal on Paper, 24”x18”. $2,500.
Barbara Zucker, Clayton. MO. “Badlands.” 2018. Etching on Paper, 16”x20”. Not for Sale.	Terry Lay, St. Louis, MO. “The End of All Things #3.” 2018. Watercolor on Paper, 26”x31”. $1,500.	Christine Giancola, Florissant, MO. “Convenience, Brooklyn, NYC.” 2019. Photograph, Digital Print, 16”x20”. $600.
Jordan McGirk, St. Louis, MO. “Stay Strong and Keep Edge.” 2017. Oil on Canvas, 48”x36”. $1,300.	Christina McNealy, Troy, IL.”Containment.” 2019. Blood Test Tubes, Venetian Glass, 14”x10”x10”. $2,500. This artwork was selected by Awards Judge Shannon Bailey for the Best of Show Award.	Jon Hall, St. Louis, MO. “Red, White, and Blue.” 2018. Acrylic on Cradled Acrylic Plexiglas Panel, 30”x20”. $900.
Ann K. Aurbach, St. Louis, MO. “In Motion.” 2019. Digital Photographic Print on Paper, 18”x22”. $300.	Sophie Binder, St. Louis, MO. “Rainbow Wall.” 2019. Hexaptych: Pyrography (Wood Burning), Watercolor on Wood, 22”x31”. $4,500.	Anthony Scheffler, St. Louis, MO. “Purple Tea.” 2016. Purple Heart, Ebonized Walnut, Figured Fir, 8”x9”x3”. $500. This artwork was selected for an Award of Excellence by Awards Judge Shannon Bailey.