Serendipity

Serendipity August 6 - September 15, 2016. FREE opening reception Saturday, August 6, 6-8 p.m. 

Please join Art Saint Louis for our Serendipity exhibition featuring new artworks by 40 St. Louis regional artists from Missouri and Illinois as juried by artists Ken Botnick & Melissa Whitwam.

Graphic design by Kathy DuffinSerendipity features 44 artworks by 40 St. Louis regional artists from Missouri and Illinois. Artworks featured are in a variety of styles, techniques and media including basketry, ceramics, drawing, mixed media, paintings, pastel, photography, printmaking, sculpture, textiles, woodworking, and more.

The exhibit is presented August 6-September 15, 2016 and is free and open to the public. A free opening reception will be held on Saturday evening, August 6, 6-8 p.m. As of August 24, our new Gallery hours are Monday-Friday 7 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturday 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Closed Sundays & holidays. Closed Labor Day holiday & weekend.

Our Exhibition JURORS are artists Ken Botnick and Melissa Whitwam. An award-winning artist and scholar, Ken Botnick is Director, Kranzberg Book Studio and Professor of Art, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, Washington University in St. Louis. Botnick is also Proprietor of emdash design studio, St. Louis, MO. He was the 2005 recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship, National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, India. Fiber artist Melissa Whitwam is Executive Director and Exhibitions Manager of the Foundry Art Centre, St. Charles, MO. Melissa has a B.A. in literature and B.F.A. in Fiber Arts from Truman State University and M.F.A. in Fibers from Arizona State University.

Serendipity is a juried exhibition featuring artworks where unexpected discoveries occurred in the process of/or in connection with art making. This exhibit aims to present artworks that demonstrate how the occurrence of accidents, chance, and discovery benefit the creative process as well as the final artwork. Oftentimes, artists begin making artworks and then something unexpected occurs during the art making process--a "happy accident." In art, this happens often when artists set about to create one thing, yet something unplanned happens to the artwork that surprisingly and successfully changes the final outcome. The artworks in this exhibition examine the role that serendipity plays in art making, art and the lives of artists. Take a sneak peek at our exhibition in our Facebook album here.

Congratulations to artists Nicole Cooper, Kimber Mallett, Lee Pierce, Scott Schlapkohl, and Carl Wingerbermuehle whose artworks have been purchased through this exhibition. Congratulations to our five Award of Excellence recipients whose artworks were selected by our exhibit Jurors. Best of Show goes to Elizabeth Moore and four Awards of Excellence go to Natalie Avondet, Suzy Farren, Cary Horton, and Sheldon Johnson.

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 through Saturday. Fines are steep ($15-20), so don't let your meter expire. If you park at a meter for the reception, remember that meters operate in downtown until 7 p.m. on Saturday. For additional parking suggestions, download a free Downtown Parking Guide here. You can also download the handy Parkmobile app, whereby you can monitor & pay your parking meter via your mobile phone.

Hourly parking is available in the PARK PACIFIC GARAGE on Olive just West of Tucker (entrance is on the South side of Olive). Parking is at your own expense. For garage parking, pay by cash via a machine in elevator bay no more than 15 minutes prior to departure OR the easier way is to pay by credit card upon exiting the garage. 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 get back in to the garage to get to your garage. Your parking ticket is your key to get back in to the garage. Art Saint Louis cannot 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.

SPECIAL EVENT
COFFEE WITH THE ARTISTS: SATURDAY GALLERY TALK
Saturday, August 13, 11 a.m.    FREE

Please join us at Art Saint Louis on Saturday, August 13, at 11 a.m. and meet four of the featured artists in Serendipity: Nicole Cooper, Sheldon Johnson, John Marksbury, and Barbara Marshall.

Guests can enjoy complimentary coffee tastings courtesy of Art Saint Louis 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.

The 40 featured artists in Serendipity are:

JURORS’ STATEMENTS

  “The word “serendipity” originates from a fairy tale in which the hero princes are constantly “making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things they were not in quest of.” The notable and inspiring word here is “sagacity”. To come across something by accident is pure chance, but possessing the wisdom to make fortunate use of the unpredictable is another thing entirely.
  This definition of the theme interests me more than the happy accident. It allows for an element of responsibility to reenter the situation. Therefore, what I find most engaging in viewing these works is the long list of chances and unplanned decisions that became the artworks we see before us. In jurying “Serendipity”, I wanted to honor the artists who clearly seized the unexpected and used it to their advantage. I hope you will also see the meandering line that becomes scaffolding, the burl in the wood that becomes the meaning, the random snapshot that possesses great beauty and composition, the errant paint stroke that forms a shape—the vision of the artist made tangible for the viewer.
  I am of course aware that by this romantic attitude, everything can be interpreted as a serendipitous creation. By the same token, all of these chances are nothing if not appreciated and acted upon by the artist. I am extremely grateful to all the artists who submitted to this exhibition for their tenacity to continue when things may not have been going as planned. Your efforts have gifted us with a beautiful body of work. I am also grateful to Ken Botnick, my co-juror, and to Art St. Louis for the opportunity to jury this exhibition. I did not know what to expect when asked to look through this body of work and was more than pleasantly surprised. I hope you all experience fortunate discoveries by accident on which you are ready to wisely follow through.”

— Melissa Whitwam

Executive Director & Exhibitions Manager

Foundry Art Centre

  “To act as a juror is a slippery business. It's not the best way to evaluate work, for sure, as one never gets to approach an individual work in three-dimensions with enough time to evaluate it on its own merits. Having a quality to look as a guide helps, and in this case, seeking the quality of serendipity in the work was a helpful marker. It's not a quality that is loud but it's not exactly quiet either. There's the "pleasant surprise" about it that, while ineffable, is still something that all of us feel when we see it. In selecting these works we sought that quality not just in the individual pieces, but in the combination of them one to the other. We hope it elicits that sensation in the visitors to this exhibition.”

— Ken Botnick

Professor of Art, Director Kranzberg Book Studio

Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, Washington University

Some of the 44 artworks featured in Serendipity:

Cary Horton, Shrewsbury, MO. "JFK Forest." 2015. Photograph on Paper, 28”x24”. $400. This artwork was selected by the Jurors to receive an Award of Excellence.	John Marksbury, St. Louis, MO. "From Sea to Shore." 2015. Mixed Media on Canvas, 63”x56”. $1,800.	Donna Broyles, Alton, IL. "Other Worlds." 2015. Weaving, Netting, Tatting; Mixed Fibers, 72”x63”. $10,000.
Blake Carroll, Imperial, MO. "Rock Candy III." 2015. Acrylic on Canvas, 20”x14”. $750.	Brad Eilering, Belleville, IL. "Untitled (Entropy)." 2016. Half Round Reed, Carved Wood Base, 18”x10”x12” . $290.	Nicole Cooper, Richmond Heights, MO. "Drift." 2015. Ink on Paper, 17”x14”. $150. This artwork has been purchased through the exhibit.
Megan Rieke, Kirkwood, MO. "Diaspora." 2016. Acrylic on Panel, 36”x24”. $535.	Andrea Standby, St. Louis, MO. "Spring Petals." 2016. Watercolor Gouache, Papermate Pen on Paper, 12”x18”. $300.	Suzy Farren, Webster Groves, MO. "Cut Up." 2016. Eco-Dyed Cloth & Thread, 25”x8.5”. $250. This artwork was selected by the Jurors to receive an Award of Excellence.
Shelby Fleming, Collinsville, IL. "Osteoporosis: the Break Down." 2015. Plywood, 26”x27”x7”. Not for Sale.	Joseph Wade, Jr., St. Louis, MO. "Visionary." 2013. Monoprint on Paper, 33”x27”. $950.	Victoria McAlister, Ladue, MO. "All Mixed Up." 2015. Collagraph on Paper, 22”x21”. $300.