Surprises and Drama found at Juried Art Show

The Thirty-second Annual Juried Art Show opened last week to a full house at the Richter Art Center. Eva Waterbury, the Chairman of the Visual Arts Committee, was on hand to discuss the art and said it was a very distinct show, with surprising winners in all categories.  

The Best of Show was a charcoal drawing entitled "The Garden" by Jen Orzolek. Mel Schwartz, retired art teacher from Danbury High School had lots to say about this piece.  "It is very unusual for a charcoal drawing to win Best of Show.  Charcoal is very difficult to work with, especially in such a large drawing."

In summing up the show, Schwartz said, "You can tell when a painting has been done with a photo.  There is a certain drama that occurs when you paint live, and that is evident in many of the paintings here." 

Categories included Oils, Acrylics, Watercolor, Pastel and Mixed Media.  The piece that seemed to draw the most conversation was a fused glass sculpture, "Blue Kimono" by M. Meken-Silvestri.  Other prize winners included an oil painting by Western Connecticut student Kevin Dunn, "Danbury Hospital and Wooster Cemetery."  His use of the pallet knife was unique to the show, and brought a modern air to the exhibition.

The show featured many more traditional pieces, including many watercolors. Lillian Lellouche, an attendee to the show and retired artist, said there was a lot of exuberance in the paintings.  She particularly favored  the First Prize winning, "Granma's House," by Bob Doyle. "His use of color was brilliant, inspirational.  He just threw it on the paper!"