It's late, but before sleep I need to write a little bit about tonight's opening of In-Between at the Worcester State University Gallery. It is very exciting to be a part of this inaugural juried exhibit of regional artists' work. This show marks the beginning of the gallery's new focus on what the Worcester Telegram calls “expanding its role in the cultural landscape” -- highlighting regional artwork and contributing to the cultural vibrancy of the city of Worcester.
There was a big turn-out tonight with a lot of university folks present and a lot of enthusiasm about this show and the gallery’s new mission. In this context, (despite my usual shyness) I was especially happy to accept a 2nd place award for my piece, What Ascends, What Remains. I also got the chance to meet some of the other exhibiting artists, some of the fine arts faculty and the gallery director, Catherine Wilcox-Titus.
My own vanity aside, there was something special about this exhibit. Choosing 52 pieces from over 350 submissions, the jurors achieved not just a stylistic vision, but a palpable sense of honesty and authenticity. I couldn’t help noticing how people pondered over these works, even in the commotion of an opening. Maybe it’s something about the conceptual meanings of “in-between” that brought out true and open visual explorations. Maybe it was in the jurors' eyes to try to find work that reveals as well as cleverly obscures. Maybe a university gallery by its nature has a certain commitment to depth that can be a bit harder to find in the larger art world.
If so, this gallery brings quite a gift to Worcester and the rest of us.
There was a big turn-out tonight with a lot of university folks present and a lot of enthusiasm about this show and the gallery’s new mission. In this context, (despite my usual shyness) I was especially happy to accept a 2nd place award for my piece, What Ascends, What Remains. I also got the chance to meet some of the other exhibiting artists, some of the fine arts faculty and the gallery director, Catherine Wilcox-Titus.
My own vanity aside, there was something special about this exhibit. Choosing 52 pieces from over 350 submissions, the jurors achieved not just a stylistic vision, but a palpable sense of honesty and authenticity. I couldn’t help noticing how people pondered over these works, even in the commotion of an opening. Maybe it’s something about the conceptual meanings of “in-between” that brought out true and open visual explorations. Maybe it was in the jurors' eyes to try to find work that reveals as well as cleverly obscures. Maybe a university gallery by its nature has a certain commitment to depth that can be a bit harder to find in the larger art world.
If so, this gallery brings quite a gift to Worcester and the rest of us.
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