NewNow 2023

LOCATION:

Tri-C Gallery East 4250 Richmond Rd, Highland Hills, OH 44122 United States

Venue

Opening Reception and Award Ceremony:

Date & Time: Thursday, September 14, 2023 from 6:00pm – 8:00pm

Statement by AAWR Executive Director Mindy Tousley: 

Since its inception in 2014 the NewNow has been a very different exhibition each year, based on the jurors’ selections. One thing that has remained constant is the quality and variety of the work of our NEO artists as epitomized by all of the entries as well as the final work chosen for the exhibition. The NewNow was conceived as a means to highlight and celebrate this variety for the world to see, and it continues to do so. The NewNow is set apart from the throng of other regional juried art exhibitions, through its consistent use of highly qualified, non-regional jurors. “The NewNow offers local artists a unique opportunity to get their work in front of fresh eyes and seeks to rise above the local art politics which can often lead to the same artists being selected for shows repeatedly.”

Our esteemed jurors from the Southern Ohio Museum, willingly took on the major task of examining the 507 entries submitted by 159 artists, which had to be culled down to a final target of 65 works. A number determined in advance to approximate an installation which would highlight rather than overcrowd the work on display. Gordon and Chepp address this in their juror’s statement “It was a genuine pleasure to view and select awards for the New/Now exhibition at the Archives of the Western Reserve. The most difficult task was to edit down the prodigious number of entries—over 500—to a manageable 65. And, while jurors will always want more, space makes its own demands, and stringency advances both cohesion and clarity… The standouts here, those pieces receiving awards as well as many others, have created a lasting impression on us. There were five awards to be given out, though we remember well many, many other strong works.” In addition to selecting the final work in the exhibition, Chepp & Gordon were responsible for selecting 4 works which will receive cash awards announced during the opening reception. An additional cash award will be chosen by popular vote which will be cast during the opening reception ONLY. Voting will commence from 6:00– 7:00pm and be announced by 7:30pm.

Accepted Artists:

Nancy Aikins, Karen Beckwith, Jeff Benedetto, Melissa Bloom, Phyllis Brody, Maggy Brown, Denise Buckley, Raymond Bugelski, Jeffry Chiplis, Ryn Clarke, Donna Coleman, Matthew Dibble, Bonnie Dolin, Elaine Dowling, Julianne Edberg, Pamela Esch, Marjorie Falk, Patty Flauto, Kathleen Fleming, Jen Florentine, Lee Heinen, Bob Herbst, Jane Herbst, Marti Higgins, Eleanor Juergens, Maria Kaiser, Wally Kaplan, Larry Kasperek, Mark Keffer, Mona Kolesar, Suzan Kraus, Jennifer Leach, Andrea LeBlond, Amy Lewandowski, Baila Litton, Lynne Lofton, Julius Lyles, Violet Maimbourg, Wayne Mazorow, Frank Miller, Alan Mintz, Charles Mintz, Clare Murray Adams, Stuart Pearl, Maria C. Pelissier, Cynthia Penter, Elia Margarita Pestana Knight, Kelly Pontoni, Elizabeth Prindle, Patricia Regenhardt, Robert Romeo, Brian Sarama, Lisa Schonberg, Jim Soppelsa, Janey Stolle, Kate Strazisar, Gwen Waight, Emily Wiser, Eileen Woods, Taylor Woolwine, Robert Wright, Kim Zarney, Evie Zimmer, Paula Zinsmeister

New Now 2023 Award Winners:

First: Janet Stolle, Kettle Selfie, Painting

Second: Lynne Lofton, Seeking Bodhi, Ceramic Sculpture

Third: Larry Kasperek, Issac and Owen, Inkjet Photography

Fourth: Cynthia Penter, As I Walked Thru the W.Village, I Came Upon Don Eddy, Digital Image Photography

Thank you to our esteemed jurors whose biographies are below!

About Our Judges, Charlotte Gordon & Mark Chepp:

Charlotte Gordon

Charlotte Gordon is an artist, curator, and Artistic Director. She received a BFA in ceramics/glass from Tulane University, and a Masters Degree in Museum Studies, focusing on African Art, from Southern University of New Orleans. Charlotte has taught ceramics in Columbus and Springfield, Ohio. She has served as Museum Curator at the Springfield Museum of Art (Ohio) and is now the Artistic Director of The Southern Ohio Museum in Portsmouth, OH, and has twenty years’ experience curating permanent, temporary, and traveling exhibitions.

Mark Chepp

Mark Chepp is a painter, art historian and Museum Director. He holds two MA degrees, one in painting and one in art history from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. He was formerly the Executive Director of the Springfield Museum of Art, overseeing the construction of their gallery expansion. Mark also has experience teaching art history at Wittenberg University and Urbana University. He was paramount in the renovations of the Frank Lloyd Wright Westcott House and the Hartman Rock Garden folk art environment, both in Springfield, Ohio. He currently serves as the Executive Director of The Southern Ohio Museum in Portsmouth, Ohio.