‘The River’ exhibition returns to Parkersburg Art Center
Trending
PARKERSBURG - The Parkersburg Art Center will hold the opening reception this week for "The River," its biennial exhibition featuring professional and semi-professional artists from West Virginia and Ohio.
The reception 5-7 p.m. Friday at the center, 725 Market St., as part of Art After Hours. It will include an awards ceremony, appetizers and a cash bar. Admission is free, although donations will be accepted at the door to support future exhibits and programming.
The Market at the Art Center will stay open during the event and host a free concert by North Carolina bluegrass musicians The Wilder Flower.
According to a news release from the Art Center, this year's exhibition drew 297 submissions from 89 artists.
Juror Chris Krupinski, a nationally recognized artist from Philadelphia, reviewed digital images of every entry before selecting 105 works for the show. After arriving in Parkersburg, she viewed the accepted pieces in person and chose the recipients of 15 awards, including Best in Show, Best 2D, Best 3D, Best Photography/Digital and Best Use of Theme ("America’s 250th").
"What impressed me most was the care, imagination, and individuality evident throughout the show," Krupinski said in the release. "Although the artists work in many different media and styles, they share a genuine commitment to creating work that is thoughtful, skillfully made, and personally meaningful."
Krupinski said the strength of the exhibition lies in its range, from quiet, reflective pieces to bold, inventive ones, and from direct observation to memory, symbolism and abstraction.
"Together they create a rich and rewarding exhibition that reflects the many ways artists respond to the world around them," she said.
The exhibition's awards are supported by the sponsorship of United Bank and WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center.