Muskegon, Museum of Art

81st Regional Exhibition

May 28 - August 5, 2009

Best of Show—Nathan Heuer (Grand Rapids)
Stadium (detail) (graphite on paper)

2nd Place—Tim Fisher (Grand Rapids)
Summer Snow (oil on panel)

3rd Place—Robert Kevin Starr (Grand Rapids)
Cover Story (oil on canvas)

 

 

 
The Muskegon Museum of Art will open its 81st Regional Exhibition on Thursday, May 28, at 10:00 a.m. The public is invited to attend an opening reception that evening from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. Artist awards will be announced at 7:00 p.m. The exhibition will be open through August 5, 2009.

Guest juror Maria Tomasula selected 158 works of art from a field of 624 entries submitted by 357 artists for this year’s Regional. Works by a total of 147 West Michigan artists are in the show this year. Both professional and amateur artists are represented and the artwork selection includes a wide variety of styles, techniques, and media.

The MMA’s Regional Exhibition is the longest-established regional art show in Michigan. Entries are accepted from artists over 18 years of age residing in West Michigan area code zones, from the Mackinac Bridge in the north, to the Indiana border in the south. Regional cash awards total over $2,400. Various individuals and organizations underwrite additional purchase award selections. Many of the works will be available for sale.

Juror Maria Tomasula is an artist and professor of art at University Notre Dame. Her most recent solo show appeared at the Muskegon Museum of Art in the spring of 2008. Tomasula has shown extensively throughout the Midwest and is represented by Zolla/Lieberman in Chicago and Forum Gallery in New York and Los Angeles.

The 81st Regional Exhibition is sponsored by Shape Corporation. Media sponsors are WGVU Public Radio and The Muskegon Chronicle. Support is also provided by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs.

RELATED PROGRAMMING: A “Meet the Artist” event will be held at the museum on Thursday, June 25 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. and is open to the public. Light refreshments will be served and award-winning Regional Exhibition artists will discuss their work and answer questions in a walk-and-talk style during the free event. MMA docents (tour guides) will lead tours through the exhibition on Thursdays in June, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. The tours are free and reservations are not required.

MMA 81st Regional Awards

Best of Show—$750
Nathan Heuer (Grand Rapids)
Stadium (graphite drawing)

2nd Place—$500
Timothy Fisher (Grand Rapids)
Summer Snow (oil painting)

3rd Place—$300
Robert Kevin Starr (Grand Rapids)
Cover Story (oil painting)

Director’s Choice—$250
Molly Pettengill (Grand Rapids)
Exhausted (oil painting)

Curator’s Choice—$250
David K. White (Jenison)
Home (oil painting)

Friends of Art Award—$250
Katherine Bourdon (Muskegon)
Petrogenesis (encaustic painting)

Robert and Veronica Youngman Memorial Award—$250
Christina Mrozik (Grand Rapids)
Their Home (pen, ink, and marker drawing)

West Michigan Potters Guild–Eleanore Smith Memorial Award—$150
Flynn Sochon (Twin Lake)
Autumn Vase (porcelain ceramic)

MMA Docents’ Choice—$100
Jason Quigno (Jenison)
Pillar of Tranquility (limestone sculpture)


Honorable Mentions—$100

Lee Brown (Muskegon)
Phi Cabinet (pine sculpture)

Geary Jones (Grand Rapids)
Gia (Cotton and linen knotted tapestry)

Rebecca Klobucher (Muskegon)
Kingdom Come (acrylic painting)


PURCHASE AWARDS

Susan Meston Purchase Award

Danielle Benson-Fennel (Grand Rapids)
Catatonic Corn (photography and mixed media)

Michael Boyd (Scottville)
To The Moon Alice–Worry Box (Cherry, ebony, silver, alexandrite)

Elise Van Tuinen (Holland)
Bird’s Nest Fungi (etching)

Patrick J. O’Leary Purchase Award

Frederic A. Reinecke (Muskegon)
Barcelona Bicycles (photography)

Elizabeth Reynders (Grand Rapids)
Mask (photography)

Tom Schillaci, Jr. (Kalamazoo)
A Gelding’s Redemption (photography)

John Kadelski, Jr. Purchase Award

Michael Boyd (Scottville)
Going Home (limestone sculpture)

Michael Faden (Kentwood)
Pier Waves (photography)

John Hills and Richard Charles Ford Purchase Award

Helen Percy Lystra (Grand Haven)
Stopping by Woods (watercolor painting)

Melissa Morrow (Whitehall)
Dolphin (acrylic painting)

Grand Valley State University Annis Water Resources Institute Purchase Award

Hildegard Montgomery (Battle Creek)
Rocky Shores (fabric)

Grand Valley State University Art Gallery Purchase Award

Steve Maier (Byron Center)
Raven Kiss #1 (photography)

Patricia Opel (Muskegon)
Shelter (acrylic and mixed media painting)

V. VanAmeyden (Battle Creek)
Untitled (Sparrow) (mixed media)

Rimar Development Purchase Award

Karen Hoekstra (Grand Rapids)
Flora? or Fowel? (acrylic and thread on canvas)