Current Exhibition

Our second Art competition “Grey” started in June 2022 and concluded on July 14, 2022. Art Room Gallery received entries from many countries around the world: USA, Australia, Poland, China, Romania, Germany, United Kingdo, Canada, Mexico and Taiwan. The Grey theme in this competition included a diversity in types, styles and mediums (oil on canvas, acrylic, watercolor, charcoal, scratchboard, graphite, collage, ink, pencil, bronze, styrofoam, wool, digital painting, photography). The following evaluation criteria has been used for judging the artwork: creativity, interpretation of the theme, originality and quality of art, overall design, demonstration of artistic ability, and usage of medium. Jury decided to select 92 artworks for inclusion in the exhibition. Aside from First, Second, and Third place Jury also presented Merit awards and Honorable Mention awards.

Thank you, and enjoy the exhibition!

Statement:

Katherine Curry is a photography-adjacent artist working in the vernacular and found image archive of her family. She graduated with a BFA in Fine Art Photography from The University of North Texas in 2019, and a MFA in Visual studies from the Pacific Northwest College of Art in 2022. She currently works in Portland, Oregon. "I took two notable photographs of my father when he came home to hospice: one when he got off the ambulance, and one when I found him after he’d passed. It was the second parent I found dead in their bed within the decade. It took 98 hours and 45 minutes for him to pass. It wasn’t an easy death- it was traumatic and painful for dad, and both for us as witnesses. The last six hours of his life, his lungs began to fill with liquid, and he experienced what many call “The Death Rattle.” When someone is deathly ill, it feels necessary to compartmentalize, to categorize, to liken their bodies and processes to ones we know. When his rattle started, I did the same: “He sounds like a record scratch- now he sounds like hot water going through a coffee maker- now he sounds like-“ this work is a series that explores the moment I found him: the shock response, the anxiety, the pain, the grief, the buried relief, the constant information that wouldn’t coalesce in my head. Each image is the same one I took when I found him, a distorted iteration of a memory and a trauma that I am slowly unpacking and processing. I will move forward in my life, and I will grow past that moment in time. And I will do that by honoring the grief that came with it."

Statement:

Derek Wilkinson grew up in the Pacific Northwest and received a BFA in painting from Washington State University, in Pullman, Washington. He continued his studies in painting and drawing at Arizona State University, in Tempe, Arizona, where he received an MFA in 2006. Derek currently resides in Emporia, Kansas with his wife and daughter, and has been teaching painting and drawing at Emporia State University since 2009. Wilkinson’s figurative paintings and drawings have been included in over one hundred group exhibitions across the United States. He has had recent solo exhibitions at Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas, Emporia Arts Center in Emporia, Kansas, Manifest Gallery in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. These ominous portraits of my daughter depict her playing one of her favorite games, “Hide and Seek.” She often hides in plain sight, thinking that nobody can see her since she cannot see them. There is a sweetness to them that reflects the innocence and naivety of childhood as she hides under a fluffy blanket. However, the child’s identity and emotional state is hidden from the viewer as her face is shrouded in secrecy behind the blanket. The stark environment, grisaille palette and low key values evoke a mysterious, and ghostly impression. The resulting image creates an uneasy balance of conflicting emotions, opening up an opportunity for the viewer to add their own interpretation.

Statement:

Cher Pruys, ASAA SCA, IGOR, AAPL, CSAA, AMS, LMS, OSA, MAA, CFA, NOAPS, AWA.. "To take my inner visions with my hands and create a work of art for you the viewer .... That is the ultimate in self expression." Cher Pruys was born in Regina. Over the years she lived in many places including Saskatoon, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Fort Frances, settling into her present home in Devlin, on the banks of the Rainy River with her husband Mark, 4 dogs and 2 cats. By age three, Cher was seldom found without a drawing tool in hand. She worked in pencil, charcoal and ink over the years, until, she picked up a paintbrush at the age of 35. Beginning with oil paints, she found her chosen mediums in acrylic, water color and gouache. Although self taught, her dedication and talent has seen her work juried into 199 International exhibits, as well as exhibits in numerous non juried shows. She has won 224 awards for her work in the International Juried Exhibits.