The “ART NOW America: National Juried Art Exhibition” is on display at ETSU’s Slocumb Galleries until April 9, featuring 37 art pieces selected by juror Mike Calway-Fagen.
Historically known as “Positive/Negative National Juried Art Exhibitions”, it continues into its 35th year at ETSU this spring. The exhibit features Tennessee artists such as John Allen, Maggie Callahan, Caroline Hatfield, Katie Murphy, Carle Moore, Beauvais Lyons, Tasha Lewis, Joe Nolan, Evie Woltil Richner and Lily Saywitz. Murphy was one of the few artists to be selected for the exhibit as an alumna of ETSU.
“I am so proud of her because there were 139 artists who participated in the selection and only 37 were accepted,” said Karlota Contreras-Koterbay, director of ETSU Slocumb Galleries. “She is one of the only local one that got accepted and she just got her BFA last year.”
Murphy’s work, as well many of the other works, integrated social and societal commentary into their pieces. While Murphy focused on the “wild woman” archetype, other topics include racial inequality, climate change, the pandemic and trauma. These ideas are communicated through traditional art mediums like painting and sculptures, while also allowing for more modern techniques in the mix like 3D-printed objects or video displays.
“In thinking about positive/negative, that was one of the draws to some of the works that you could have a traditional very traditional process like silversmithing, and the production of these dainty spoons in conversation and in proximity to a neon green, 3D-printed work,” Calway-Fagen said. “There are a lot of pieces that started out in one medium and evolved through either the artist’s own process or through conversation with myself and Karlota and the artist and that kind of exchange produced another medium transformation.”
Contreras-Koterbay explained that this exhibit is a chance for the ETSU community to observe how art has many potential objects, expressions and meanings. It is a chance to expose students to national artwork that could be much different from what they see in their day-to-day lives.
“It’s always a lot of different media that some students or the community has never seen before, so it’s always exciting to bring the country to Appalachia because it’s open to our alumni and our region as well,” said Contreras-Koterbay. “It’s just letting them see that there are so many potentials in life, so many potential objects, so many potential expressions.”
Calway-Fagen explained that it has been an honor to work alongside ETSU in the juring process, as it was a collaborative effort between people involved in his personal art journey and those at Slocumb Galleries.
“It’s just been like a really wonderful experience working with Karlota and ETSU’s gallery spaces,” Calway-Fagen said. “There are multiple galleries and they produce such thoughtful, cutting-edge exhibitions dealing with topics that are very much part of a very current cultural dialogue.”
The next Slocumb Galleries exhibition will be a Student Honor Show running from April 12 to May 8, with a reception on April 29 at 5 p.m. To learn more, visit etsu.edu/cas/art/galleries/.
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