ASC Announces Artists Selections for 2023 Rosenzweig Exhibition; Awards Reception Is July 20

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“Anywhere I Lay My Head (version 3)” by Blake Sanders of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, is one of the 35 artworks selected for the “2023 Irene Rosenzweig Biennial Juried Exhibition.” (Screenprint on repurposed fabric, appliqué & reverse appliqué stitching, and salvaged plastic grocery sacks; 2022.)

Art Show Recognizes Artists in Mid-South; Awards Reception on July 20

By Shannon Frazeur

The Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas (ASC) has announced the selections for its 2023 Irene Rosenzweig Biennial Juried Exhibition. The show opens Thursday, July 20, 2023, at ASC’s home building, 701 S. Main St., with an awards reception from 5–7 p.m.

Juror Dr. Rachel Trusty will present the awards at 6. The reception is free and open to the public.

“Hold On, Let Go,” by Lisa Krannichfeld of Little Rock, Arkansas; watercolor, concrete, acrylic, and resin, on multilayered shaped panels, 32 inches by 34 inches by 3 inches, 2023.

The 35 artists with works selected are:

“Let's Dance” by Stacey Monteleone of Oxford, Mississippi; acrylic, 30 inches by 40 inches, 2023.

  • Leslie Alvarez of Springfield, Missouri, “Bloom Nature,” digital art

  • Stuart Asprey of Norman, Oklahoma, “Snackie Cake Superhero Platter,” ceramic

  • Jennifer Barnett of Little Rock, Arkansas, “Memory Dance,” photograph

  • Peter Barnitz of Kenner, Louisiana, “Dissection of Space,” mixed media

  • Becky Blackburn of Memphis, Tennessee, “How The Story Ends,” ceramic

  • Jason Bly of Wichita Falls, Texas, “Norepinephrine,” painting

  • Carley Brown of Little Rock, Arkansas, “Feeling Lucky?,” painting

    Danqi Cai of Knoxville, Tennessee, “The Atomic Boy,” monotype and watercolor

  • Adaja Cooper of Little Rock, Arkansas, “Bug Has The Hose Now,” painting

  • Melissa Cowper-Smith of Morrilton, Arkansas, “Whispers Borrowed,” mixed media

  • Tim Cribbs of Bentonville, Arkansas, “The Wild Burns at Night,” digital print on canvas

  • Kelsey Duncan of Nashville, Tennessee, “Onyx,” stoneware and mixed media

  • Kurt Dyrhaug of Beaumont, Texas, “Vertical Tonka Wing,” cast iron and enamel

  • Paige Ellens of Memphis, Tennessee, “Cowboy in Solitude,” painting

  • Patrick Fleming of Roland, Arkansas, “Mother Earth I,” painting on dimensional canvas

  • Elizabeth Fontenot of Beaumont, Texas, “Rising,” mixed media

  • Nabil Gonzalez of El Paso, Texas, “Blackout of The American Dream (Series 1-8),” mixed media

  • Chris Hurtado of El Paso, Texas, “Automatic Graffiti,” porcelain

  • Crystal Jennings of Rison, Arkansas, “Catalyst,” charcoal drawing

  • Lisa Krannichfeld of Little Rock, Arkansas, “Hold On, Let Go,” mixed media

  • Vincent Marie of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, “I'm Tired,” mixed media

  • Dennis McCann of Maumelle, Arkansas, “Girl Talk,” pastel

  • Donna M Meeks of Beaumont, Texas, “(American Dream) #9,” mixed media

  • Stacey Monteleone of Oxford, Mississippi, “Let's Dance,” painting

  • Erik Ordaz of Nacogdoches, Texas, “N.I.N.J.A.,” ceramic

  • Rachel Perry of Lafayette, Louisiana, “Behind the Warehouse,” painting

  • Yelena Petroukhina of Little Rock, Arkansas, “Blindly Forward,” ceramic

  • Tom Richard of Monticello, Arkansas, “Bubble Gum on Art (Giotto/FraAngelica/Daumier),” mixed media

  • Debra Roberson of Shreveport, Louisiana, “Cotton Field: The Overseer,” photograph and mixed media

  • Wesley Roden of Signal Mountain, Tennessee, “Loose Cannon,” painting

  • Blake Sanders of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, “Anywhere I Lay My Head (version 3),” mixed media

  • Jennifer Smay of Fayetteville, Arkansas, “One goes this way, one goes that way,” ­­­drawing

  • Sarah Stobbe of Arlington, Tennessee, “Hand-me-down,” ceramic

  • Holden Sutton of Allen, Texas, “Head in the Ceiling Fan,” painting

  • Stephen Zhang of Plano, Texas, “perverted CONnections,” drawing

“Automatic Graffiti” by Chris Hurtado of El Paso, Texas; underglazes and glaze on porcelain, 3.5 inches by 3.5 inches, 2023.

The exhibition welcomes submissions from artists in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas. Artwork in traditional and digital forms are accepted, including paintings, drawings, original prints, fiber art, ceramics, sculpture, photography, video and digital work.

The awards are Best in Show ($1,000), First Place ($500), Second Place ($200), and three Merit Awards ($100 each). Purchase awards are also available, allowing ASC to add works from the exhibition to its permanent collection.

ASC received 594 artwork submissions by 315 artists, from which Trusty chose 35.

“Dissection of Space” by Peter Barnitz of Kenner, Louisiana; mixed media, mica powder, and automotive paint on hand-cut canvas, 52 inches by 52 inches, 2021.

“I was incredibly impressed by the quality and breadth of all the work,” Trusty said. “Choosing only 35 pieces from over 500 entries was difficult, and I want to celebrate everyone who entered. When selecting pieces for the show, I had two main criteria. First, that the work demonstrated excellence in technique, and second, that the work was innovative and pushed what we consider to be ‘art’ forward through media, theme, or both.”

Trusty is an artist, educator, and curator. She is a visiting assistant professor of women's and gender studies at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Trusty has a Ph.D. and a Master of Arts degree in women, gender, and sexuality studies from the University of Kansas (2022 and 2020); a Master of Fine Arts degree from Lesley College in Boston (2011); and a Bachelor of Arts degree in sculpture and art education from the University of Central Arkansas in Conway (2006).

The biennial exhibition began with a gift from the Irene Rosenzweig Foundation to ASC in 1992. Born in Pine Bluff in 1903, Rosenzweig was a noted scholar and teacher. She earned a doctoral degree from Bryn Mawr College, studied in Rome, and was fluent in six languages. Rosenzweig tutored President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s family members during their time in the White House. She died in 1997.

The exhibition will be on view in ASC’s William H. Kennedy Jr. Gallery through Saturday, Oct. 14. Admission to ASC’s galleries is always free. The exhibition is supported in part by The Arts & Science Center Endowment Fund and the Irene Rosenzweig Endowment Fund. The reception is sponsored by ASC’s volunteer group Art Krewe and M.K. Distributors.

For more information, contact Kevin Haynie, ASC’s curator of collections and exhibitions, at khaynie@asc701.org or call 870-536-3375.