By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
A year ago Aaron Pickens won best of show at the Now OH exhibit with a painting it took him two hours to complete.
The painting was a small a landscape painted on location.
This year Pickens won Best of Show for a very different piece. “In Da Club” took two years in the studio to complete. It draws on Pickens’ fascination with toys, and serves as a commentary on the contemporary art scene. Pickens said the piece references fashionable trends in painting. In the middle is a small self-portrait that’s slashed by a splash of paint. He also plays with the use of repetition. He also employs social media “love” and “like” icons.
These are the tropes he sees in the work that are featured in magazines and are accepted in juried show. “In Da Club” has not been accepted in any juried shows. Pickens said. But the Now OH, is open to all comers from 12 counties in Northwest Ohio.
Amanda Gargac
The 11th community art exhibit Now OH opened Friday night in the Bowling Green State University Fine Art Center with a gallery talk by juror Michelle Carlson and the awards ceremony. The show continues through July 28. Gallery hours are: Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m. and Friday through Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m.
The 65 artists who showed work included avocational artists, some who have been at it for decades, and an art professor.
The prize winners included names familiar to those who frequent local arts events, such as Art Walk and the Wood County Invitational at the Black Swamp Arts festival. They are stalwarts in those shows, though not necessarily award winners.
Painter Craig Blair received the first place in 2D work for his painting “Girl with Balloon.” In her talk Carlson praised Blair’s mastery of spray paint art and the way he used a few simple images – a woman, a balloon, a blimp – to create an evocative effect.
Blair said in his 50 years of painting he’d never won an award. He’s been a regular exhibitor at Now OH. “I like the quality of the art especially for a non-juried show,” Blair said.
He doesn’t paint to win awards. “I just do it because I like it.” Others seem to appreciate what he creates. “I sell a lot of paintings.”
Carlson said the juxtaposition of two award-winning works demonstrates the way the show reflects the diversity of the region.
Meghan Kozal’s finely cut wood piece “And Word Became Flesh,” featured layers of what appear to be Arabic script.
Now OH 11 juror Michelle Carlson talks about Mike Lake’s sculpture “Telescopic #3,” which was awarded First Place, 3D.
Carlson praised the technical skill of the laser cutting.
Hung nearby was Photographer Richard Davis’ “February, Defiance County,” a stark winterscape of a church and a line of trees.
While the image is something one associates with Northwest Ohio, Carlson said, it also resonates with deeper emotion.
“That’s the power of an exhibit like this when you see this plurality of visions.”
Carlson awarded the Kiwanis Youth Award to Amanda Gargac, an 18-year-old from Northwood, for her painting “Mother to All.”
Carlson said the piece was “technically stellar that’s starting to show a glimpse into that person’s life.”
Gargac, who will be a sophomore at the University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne, Indiana, said she only paints people that are close to her. The woman in “Mother of All” is her grandmother, who had 13 children.
Her aim, the artist said, was “to tell stories without words.”
She titled the painting “Mother of All” because her grandmother “just loved caring for people and helping them grow,” Gargac said. “She’s looking off in the distance looking for someone else to care for.
“My grandparents were huge supporters of my art. I wanted to show appreciation for her in this piece.”
Dinu Gavris’ “Back to School Gear – Pencil Accessories Case” was another piece the juror praised or technical skill and packing an emotional punch.
An honorable mention winner, the leather piece included the outline of a gun and bullets along with the usual school supplies. The piece “makes you shiver,” Carlson said.
Other winners were:
- First place 3D: Mike Lake, “Telescopic #3”
- Second Place 2D: Ellen Fure Smith, “Room Divider”
- Second Place 3D: Kelsey Ann Scharf, “Mark”
- Honorable Mentions: Dave Grabarczyk, “One Curve”; Bridget Andrews, “Northwest Indians Study: Spirit”; and Louis Staeble, “Fired.”
Staeble has exhibited his photographs several times in recent Now OH exhibits. This is his first award.
He said of the exhibit: “It does prove that our area has really good artists. I’m proud to be in this.”
