More than 50 works of art from across the region will fill the galleries of the Owensboro Museum of Fine Art starting this weekend as the Owensboro Art Guild opens its 63rd Annual Juried Exhibition.
The show, which features artists from Kentucky and neighboring states, kicks off with a free public reception from 6-8 p.m. Saturday. More than $5,000 in merit and purchase awards will be presented during the event.
“We’re proud of the show. It’s always very diverse,” said Jim Barr, president of the Owensboro Art Guild. “We have people who are really professional artists, we have people who are semi-professional, and we have some who just started painting in the last four or five years.”
Jurist Beverly Bruntz, a contemporary painter based in Kentucky, narrowed 73 submissions to 58 pieces, selecting eight for merit awards. Bruntz, who holds a master of art from California State University, Fullerton, moved to the region in 2009 and currently serves as president of the Indiana Plein Air Painters Association.
Jason Hayden, executive director of the Owensboro Museum of Fine Art, said this year’s exhibition highlights creative talent from across the region.
“There’s going to be a lot of people coming,” Hayden said. “It’s open to the community. People should expect some of the best regional artists in the exhibition. It’s not just Owensboro-Daviess County. It’s all over the region, plus southern Indiana.”
The show includes a range of styles and mediums, from paintings and prints to sculptures and mixed media. Barr said the variety is part of what makes the annual exhibit so appealing.
“The majority of the works are paintings of some sort or another, but we have a lot of sculptures and some prints, too,” Barr said. “There’s a wide variety, both in style and medium, and in both 2D and 3D work. That’s one of the things that makes our show appealing, is that it’s such a wide variety of styles.”
The exhibition will remain on display through May 10. Museum hours are 12-5 p.m. Tuesday to Friday and 1-4 p.m. Saturday to Sunday. Admission is free, though donations of $3 for adults and $2 for children are encouraged.
The Owensboro Art Guild, founded in 1959, is Kentucky’s oldest continuing visual arts organization operated by artists. In addition to the annual juried exhibition, the guild organizes several open exhibitions throughout the year in partnership with the museum.
