Slocumb Galleries’ most prestigious show of the school year, Positive/Negative 18, will run through Feb. 28.
The 18th annual show accepted entries in all medias including drawing, painting, sculpture, watercolor, printmaking, computer grahics and photography. Of the 479 entries from all over the United States, 47 were selected for display.
The juror for this year’s competition was Linda Johnson Dougherty, an independent curator and critic from Chapel Hill, N.C.
She is also a national art magazine writer, working for publications such as Art Papers, Sculpture Magazine and Public Art Review. Dougherty is a panel member for the National Endowment for the Arts.
She is currently co-curating an exhibition, “Defying Gravity: Contemporary Art and Flight.” This show will open in November, at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, and will include all medias.
Dougherty said she was surprised at the quality of the work for Positive/Negative 18 and at the range of places across the United States the work was sent from.
She picked five local artists from the entries without knowing it, which was very exciting for her to realize.
“Every year we get excellent work, very professional and contemporary,” said gallery director Alison Pack.
The works selected this year range from paintings, mixed media pieces, photographs, drawings and etchings.
Many of the pieces are contemporary in style. Others relate to past styles and are reminiscent of certain periods of art.
Of the six juror’s awards given, one went to local artist Kathy Gibian, from Abingdon, Va., for her watercolor piece titled “Razzamataz.”
The other juror’s awards were given to Kimberly Anderson’s “Equanimity,” a paint and intaglio work; an oil painting by Marcie Lenke, “The Couch Was Yellow;” and Michael Cornfeld’s “Riverfront-Morning Mist,” a charcoal piece.
Scott Eagle’s “Study #3, Theology,” a graphite drawing and Martha Petty’s “Tornado Series” an encaustic work also were given juror’s awards.
The local artists selected for the exhibition included Carole Blevins, Bristol, Tenn.; Anita Jung and Stacy Fletcher, Knoxville, Tenn.; Kimberly Anderson, Boone, N.C.; and Charles Goolsby, Emory, Va.
Slocumb Galleries is open weekdays from 8:30-4:30 p.m. and is located on the first floor in Ball Hall. Call Slocumb Galleries at 439-5315.

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