The Northwest Minnesota Arts Council is excited to announce the Northwest Minnesota Art Exhibit Winners. Student and adult artists residing in a seven-county region, including Kittson, Marshall, Norman, Polk, Pennington, Roseau, and Red Lake, recently entered into the Northwest Minnesota Art Exhibit and competed for $2,300.00 in cash awards. The winners were recognized at the Northwest Minnesota Artist Reception in Thief River Falls on April 27.
Exhibit cash award winners were chosen while the exhibit was displayed at the NWMAC Gallery at Northland Community and Technical College in Thief River Falls from March 8 to April 27 by qualified juror and North Dakota Museum of Art Education Director Matt Anderson. Anderson is from the rural town of Gackle. He earned his BA from Northern State University in Aberdeen, SD, and his MFA from the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks. He is currently the Director of Education for the North Dakota Museum of Art. He has exhibited his works nationally and internationally and is a part of public and private collections.
“One of the most rewarding, but also challenging, tasks asked of art professionals is to jury a show. Within a short time span of a few hours, I’m asked to make many decisions and ultimately conclude, does this work merit an award? There is no rule book, and the process is highly subjective. Another juror would choose differently. I come equipped only with the sum of my artistic knowledge, experience, and my intuition.
There are several elements and factors that I take into consideration. First, I look at craftsmanship, technical skill, presentation, and creativity. Secondly, I consider the use of medium, subject matter, and composition. Does it express a mood or message? Does the piece resonate in some way with me? Does it invite me to explore it further? Has the artist created a style that is markedly their own? Would I like to see more work by this artist?
I appreciated the artistic conversation between the generations of artmakers. Many of the pieces in the student work were highly emotive, while the adult work tended to be more contemplative. The visual art conversation in this show also merges into the context of an overall large Conversation of Art that has been happening for hundreds of years. At the end of the day, all of the works are part of that larger dialogue, and I hope all the artists continue to invest in their unique creative voice.
The jury process is not an exact science, but it is a time-honored method for artists to receive feedback. Again, I can only encourage artists to continue to submit works to shows such as this one.” Anderson said.
Exhibit Awards include:
Adult Winners
1st Place $500 Beau Bakken of Hallock in acrylic painting “Sunny Day”
2nd Place $300 Bert Foster of Thief River Falls in photography “Gooseberry Cataract”
3rd Place $200 Ross Harper Hier of Crookston in painting “Wood Splitter’s Alarm Clock”
Merit $100 Nick Reitzel of Karlstad in painting “Across the Purple Sky”
Merit $100 Sarah Amaral of Fosston in mixed media/other “Record Cape”
Merit $100 Cindy Kolling of Gully in drawing “Looking Pretty Good”
Merit $100 Paulette Christianson of Badger in drawing “Under the Orange Moon”
Merit $100 Betsy Saurdiff of Grygla in sculpture “Butter Dish”
People’s Choice $100 Christine Foster of Thief River Falls
Student Winners
1st Place $300 Addison Severts of Grygla in mixed media “Wave of Money”
2nd Place $150 Morgan Chisholm of Ada in sculpture “Teatime in the Spring”
3rd Place $100 Anna Mickolio of Goodridge in drawing “Wilbur”
Merit $50 Kaytlyn Knutson of Red Lake Falls in digital art “A Night on Another Planet”
Merit $50 Valiant Underwood of Ada in painting “Leviathan”
Merit $50 Lakykie Brobst of Grygla in photography “Hayes Lake Skies”
Merit $50 Paige Sturre of Thief River Falls in drawing “Recognizing the Value”
Merit $50 Mason Owens of Euclid in wood sculpture “Peace in the Roughness”
People’s Choice $50 Addison Severts of Grygla
Several exhibit pieces from students and adults were chosen to be included in the Traveling Art Exhibit, which will travel this next year to area libraries. Watch for the schedule to be announced and arrive in your community.
