Bluegrass Biennial closing reception is Aug. 29

The closing reception for the Bluegrass Biennial juried art exhibit will be Wednesday, Aug. 29, from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Golding-Yang Art Gallery in the Claypool-Young Art Building.

The juror for this year’s exhibit was Daniel Pfalzgraf, an artist and curator of the Carnegie Center for Art and History in New Albany, Indiana. Pfalzgraf received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Murray State University in sculpture and drawing and is finishing a Master of Business Administration degree at Indiana University Southeast. He will hold a juror talk at the closing reception, where he will discuss the juror process and speak on the specific award-winning pieces from the exhibit. 

Twenty-three artists from across the Commonwealth were featured in the mixed media exhibit, which opened June 4. Pfalzgraf chose several artworks that were granted exhibition awards. They included:

• Best in Show Award: Arturo Sandoval (Lexington), Pattern Fusion No. 15: Motherboard 6 (cobalt blue), 2016, Art quilt, 80.5 x 81.5”.
• Merit Award: KCJ Szwedzinski (Louisville), Learning the Debka Step, 2018, Ink on Stonehedge paper, 38 x 50”.
• Merit Award: Kiptoo Tarus (Lexington), A Curious Case of Two Queers, 2015, Cedar wood, 16 x 10 x 10”.
• Merit Award: Dick Dougherty (Berea), Arrested #B-12W0117, 2017, Watercolor and pen, 20 x 16”.
• Honorable Mention: Philis Alvic (Lexington), Looking into The Garden, 2016, Weaving, 78 x 32".
• Honorable Mention: Cooper Gibson (Eubank), Trying, 2018, Non-traditional weaving, 9’ x 3’ x 6” .

“The range of work and artists is always a strength of the exhibition,” said Jennifer Reis, director of the Golding-Yang Gallery. “There is a type of artwork for every taste in this show from traditional oil painting to installation sculpture. The artists range from self-taught and recent graduates to professor emeritus and professional artists.” 

The next Bluegrass Biennial Exhibit will be held in summer 2020.

For more information about the Golding-Yang Gallery and MSU’s Department of Art and Design, visit www.moreheadstate.edu/art.