EXHIBITION RECORD

The Appleton Biannual

Saturday, June 19, 2004 through Sunday, August 15, 2004

This is the Museum’s first juried regional art exhibition. The Appleton has organized this show in response to the repeated requests from local artists interested in an exhibition at the Museum. Click here to view the Exhibition Brochure.

For the first time the Appleton Museum of Art hosts a regional juried exhibition, the type of event often found in many other communities. While there are many reasons to undertake this venture, the primary opportunity this exhibit affords is to reach toward one of our institution’s main goals: to strengthen our connections with our community. The Appleton Biannual helps us attain this goal in many ways. Specifically, we have the fortune to support local artists by affording equal opportunity for them to exhibit in the Museum. It offers us chances to meet and develop colleagues, contacts, and friendships, as well as supporters of the arts. Another goal that is served through this exhibit is to heighten awareness about the Appleton Museum, its collections, exhibitions, and programs. By bringing the best of contemporary regional art to the center of the geographical area (Alachua, Citrus, Lake, Levy, Marion, Putnam, and Sumter counties) and acting as catalyst in providing a forum for creative inspiration, engaging discussions, attention to current trends in art, this exhibit may possibly even result in inspiring people to become interested in art or to become artists. What a wonderful occasion this is to discover the wealth of talent in our own backyard!

While this is the first juried adventure for the Appleton, we are extremely pleased with the great response of 114 applications. As you know, a juried or judged show means that some artists are selected and others are not. It is never an easy task to decide, all artists have merit. As judge and curator for this exhibit, many criteria formed the basis of the decision process from the time of the call for artists. As in suggesting any exhibit for the Appleton, we ask a number of questions. Are the images intriguing? Do they cause you to pause, take notice, or look twice - often leaving you wondering and wanting to know more? Will it engage our audience and bring something to them that they may not see elsewhere?

The applications were reviewed and selections made from slide and digital submissions as well as studio visits. While the museum is blessed with liberal exhibitions space -it is limited - the final selection included 17 artists, more than we originally anticipated. Each artist is showcased through a number of his or her works enabling the viewer to explore an artist in depth as well as examine artists among one another to discover current regional trends in art.

The nature of this call for artists would dictate that there would not be a common theme or consistency in media. We hoped for as much diversity in all aspects as possible. Variety appears in media, technique, subject, style, representation (realism/abstraction), location, gender, age, nationality, and sensibility. Yet, common themes appear. These overriding themes included 1. Nature -the inspiration, creation, interpretation, and/or the manipulation of such. 2. Process - the works emerge from a process of exploring materials or techniques. 3. The human condition - relationships, memories/nostalgia or the distortion of such, and social commentaries. While these themes transcend the works represented in these galleries, ultimately the creations are the voice of the individual artist, and for them, they are liberating.

Dr. Leslie Hammond
Director of Curatorial Affairs