The 2019 installment of Eastern Kentucky University’s annual Chautauqua National Juried Art Exhibition will open on Tuesday, Jan. 22, in the Fred Parker Giles Gallery. The show will kick off with a reception on Thursday, Jan. 24, from 5 to 7 p.m., where refreshments will be served.
The annual exhibition is a collaboration between the Fred Parker Giles Gallery, the Chautauqua Lecture Series and the EKU Department of Art and Design. Esther Randall, curator of the Giles Gallery, organized the exhibition, selected the juror and managed the submission process. She said she can't wait for the public to see this year’s pieces.
“It is another really good year for looking at art with The Chautauqua National,” said Randall. “Every year, I find that unpacking the art that artists have sent is like a second Christmas. Many of the pieces are more beautiful and exciting than their digital images can convey.”
This year’s juror, James Grubola of the University of Louisville, has selected a variety of works in all media as finalists for the exhibition and will award merit prizes and monetary awards for the top entries. The Detroit native’s work has been featured in several exhibitions and in the permanent collections of the Speed Art Museum, the Indianapolis Museum of Art and the corporate collections of Bristol Myers Squibb, Eastman Kodak and McGraw Hill, Inc.
The 2019 collection features 42 works by 32 artists in multiple media. “There is a wide variety of work,” shared Randall. “Some show breathtaking virtuosity, some are fun and funky, and some are profound and thought provoking.”
The pieces focus on this year’s theme, “Truth and Consequences.” Entrants are required to submit an artist’s statement expressing their work’s connection to the series theme, according to Lecture Series coordinator Erik Liddell.Randall and Liddell will collaborate to confer a special theme award in addition to the awards granted by Grubola.
The exhibition runs until Friday, Feb. 15, and is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Erik Liddell at erik.liddell@eku.edu.