OPEN CALL NXNE 2019: PAINT

Brattleboro Museum & Art Center’s annual open call for artists’ submissions brought forth a plethora of exceptional responses. The effort to narrow down this comprehensive and talented group to exhibition size from more than 300 artists was a challenging yet rewarding experience.

The selected works explore the pictorial language of space and perception, balance and symmetry, and the themes of mystery and reality. I hope that they may be viewed and considered both individually and as a part of this unique collective.

Click here to view selected images from the exhibit. 

Walker Roman’s and Shona Macdonald’s paintings evince a dreamlike quality, yet remain based in reality. Jenna Lash’s and Douglas Navarra’s works manipulate recognizable imagery, using source material such as currency and historic documents to examine pattern, iconography, and historical context. Roger Patrick’s bucolic landscapes appear idyllic at first glance, yet emerge peppered with unknown tensions. Ari Chaves’s nostalgic interiors alter our perspective in order to reexamine the domestic and otherwise mundane.

Julia Jensen’s abstract paintings depart from the landscape yet remain rooted in nature, heeding the philosophy that abstraction cannot be self-referential. Carleen Zimbalatti’s intricately complex drawings invite the viewer to maneuver through a visual maze of discovery. Scot Borofsky, Jorge Costa, Vita Eruhimovitz, Samuel Fisch, and Susan Osgood utilize their chosen media with fervor and dexterity to amplify their own unique voices.

Partnering these refreshingly diverse yet equally accomplished artists in this exhibit opens a portal to the vast possibilities of content, style, individualism, and artistic skill.

It is my pleasure to thank all of the artists who submitted work to this year’s Open Call NXNE exhibition. Their contribution to the regional artistic community is invaluable. I would also like to thank Sarah Freeman and Mara Williams for the opportunity to participate and contribute to what will undoubtedly be a spectacular exhibition.

— Miles McEnery, Juror

RELATED EVENTS

January 12, Saturday, 11 a.m. – Opening Reception