Once again it was my honor and pleasure and hard work to jury my fellow artists; this time for the
2012 Hoyt Institute of Fine Arts Mid Atlantic Art Competition in Pennsylvania.
And like I've noted before, even though I’ve juried, organized, curated or otherwise
passed judgment on my fellow artists around 300 times in the last few decades,
the process of jurying an art show never ceases to amaze me by both how individually
difficult each one is and how inspiring each one becomes.
As a juror, and when done properly, the task of selecting
artwork is immensely hard; made harder by the fact that a juror must also
reject artwork and artists. More often than not, some rejected artwork floats
back and forth between acceptance and rejection – there are variables that
dictate how many pieces are included and how the downsizing of a show (it is
almost always downsizing) tugs at the visual arts heart.
The Hoyt Mid Atlantic jurying process was an especially
difficult show to put together. Why? Because there were so many powerful
entries competing for limited wall space and because the vast majority of
submissions reflected an amazing variety of genres, media, approaches, ideas
and processes.
There was mastery in painting; plenty of that and from
plenty of diverse approaches! Bruce Erickson subtle and intelligent approach to
composition, light and homage to the classics is vastly different from James O’Malley’s
brutally hyper-realistic take on our surrounds.
They are both the result of
artists flexing very powerful technical skills married to even stronger
artistic visions.
Carol Wallace’s breathtaking watercolor takes a mundane
subject (Pears) and elevates it to a sublime position as only a refreshing and
difficult watercolor can do.
And Ohad Cadji’s lusty photograph is a triumph of
the human body’s never-ending ability to engage and warm our mind and body.
For those of you invited to exhibit, I send a well done! It
was a tough competition and you should feel pleased and honored. For those
artists whose work was rejected, as an artist myself, I your juror shares that
experience with you and I know that it is never easy to accept. However, I also
pass that as a juror and artist, it is clear to me that one juror’s vision and
approach is just that: one juror! Keep on creating!
I have been honored to put my name
to this show, and I thank
all of you for it.
There was mastery in painting; plenty of that and from
plenty of diverse approaches! Bruce Erickson subtle and intelligent approach to
composition, light and homage to the classics is vastly different from James O’Malley’s
brutally hyper-realistic take on our surrounds. 
While temperatures hit
the 100-degree mark this summer, Washington, DC, area painters were
donning hats and sunscreen and grabbing their outdoor easels in a quest
to create paintings for their 100th birthday party celebration.
The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards
is a visual art prize produced by the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment
District through the amazing generosity of Mrs. Carol Trawick. The prize honors artists from Maryland, Washington, D.C. and
Virginia. 
