Virtual Exhibit
Open to view starting Friday, September 18, 2020
Award announcement Monday, September 28, 2020
Juried art exhibition featuring recent works by our region and nation's most talented artists. Witness recent and relevant artwork that will enlighten, inform, and entertain.
Artist Statements and Biographies
Statements and biographies are written by the individual artists and are published with their permission. The views expressed are their own. All artwork pricing is set by the artist and is non-negotiable and non-refundable. All artwork sales are by commission with Pablo Center at the Confluence. Your purchase supports our endeavors to present quality visual arts programming that is free and open to the public. Thank you.
About the Confluence of Art Annual
"This exhibit ushers in our third season at Pablo Center at the Confluence. Although we may not be together physically, through the viewing of art in this virtual exhibit we can all have a common experience. We can gain an understanding of our community and our humanity by scrolling through the images of artworks that have been created by our region's top artistic minds, selected by our esteemed juror, David Brock, and exhibited for you in this virtual format. To be sure, viewing art in this format has its limitations: there is an appreciation of artwork that can only be gained by seeing it with our own eyes, by marveling at the brush strokes that give a sense of human effort, the careful stitching that can only be seen up close, the grain of the wood that bonds us to nature: we will see these things again. In this virtual format, the art comes into your home and on the go. We can reach audiences from across the world and also those communities close to home that might not get to come into Pablo Center that often. One of the joys of this annual juried art exhibit is the variety of mediums that are on view. Please be sure to read through the artistic statements and biographies of the artists on display, these words will add to the enjoyment and appreciation of the artwork and may give you further reason to purchase a work of art from Pablo Center. Who knows, it may even inspire you to take the next steps in your creative endeavor.
A special thank you goes out to all of the artists who submitted their artwork to our juror. It takes courage to create, to extend yourself out for the world to see. It takes even more courage to offer your work up to the scrutiny of a practiced and professional eye. Our juror, David Brock, had the challenge of sifting through over 230 images to select 53 works of art that he felt represented the best current works of art that our community has to offer. We thank Mr. Brock for his commitment to the arts."
- Rose Dolan-Neill, Curator
Visual & Literary Arts Manager
Pablo Center at the Confluence
Meet the Juror - David Brock
ARTIST STATEMENT
My art, both in painting and drawing, centers around the architecture of the landscape, both grand and small, wild and domesticated. Paired down to the essentials of color and form, these works reflect a cognitive reconciliation with those often-times overlooked spaces as a means of self-understanding and grounding.
ARTIST BIO
Born and raised on the Front Range of Colorado, David graduated from University of Northern Colorado with a BA in Painting and Drawing and received an MFA in 2D Studies from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, OH. David currently is an Associate Professor in Painting and Drawing at Sheridan College in Sheridan, WY.
Before moving to Sheridan with his wonderful wife, two stellar kids, and one fuzzy dog in 2016, he taught in the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire, the University of Wisconsin - Stout, and the Bowling Green State University art departments. He has also been the Gallery Director of the Janet Carson Gallery at the Eau Claire Regional Arts Center in Wisconsin.
His artwork has appeared in national and international juried and group exhibitions, along with numerous solo shows. He is currently represented by the Nines Gallery in Holland, MI, and the Commercial in Alma, WI.
David has studied, lived and taught for two years in Fukuoka, Japan, and for one year Florence, Italy, along with extensively traveling throughout Europe and Asia.
2020 Confluence of Art Annual Award Winners
"The award-winning work was singled out by a couple of fundamental criteria: Did the work say something that I felt was important to all of what is happening now (did it feel contemporary in its form and its narrative)? And was it strong visually (did it have a strong, immediate, and visceral impact to me as a viewer rather quickly)? The work that I ultimately chose for the awards were ones that I felt strongly and definitively checked both of those crucial boxes.
I hope that you enjoy this exhibit as much as I did when I got to spend a lot of time with them. They are diverse and wonderful. I only wish I could have seen them all in person. Hopefully something that we will be able to do soon."- David Brock, Juror
Sheridan, Wyoming
Best of Show RECIPIENT
"Portrait of a Fighter" - Zach Oliphant
Archival Inkjet Print, 32x40 | $950
This image is part of an ongoing portrait series. While the project is still evolving, the constant thread involves the abstraction of self and identity using traditional photographic portraiture.
The definitive truth in meaning is something that you will not be offered by Zach Oliphant’s creative practice. He uses photography, sculpture, and installation in often ambiguous and highly subjective work intended for guided, yet open ended, personal reflection. His work often explores themes of self, cyclicity, and fear.
First Place
"Gold Star" - Lynne Burgess
Monoprint with watercolor, 12x16
$350
Alice and Gold Star are part of a series of monoprint portraits. The lines are etched into plexiglass, whereas the color is ink applied to its surface. Each print is unique due to variations in color and inking processes. Most of these prints go through the press several times, each time adding a layer of color. These two have an additional layer of watercolor added to further develop the final portrait. Both portraits are of historically significant women in the Coulee Region. Alice Green Hixon was a high school teacher who married into a prominent La Crosse family. She helped establish the first League of Women Voters in our area in 1920, the year the 19th Amendment passed. Gold Star is a portrait of Mary Wallum. Her son, Rudy, a young soldier during WWI, died of the Spanish Influenza epidemic. Mother and son are buried in Holmen’s Halfway Creek Cemetery.
I have been captivated by the printmaking process for the last 20 years, receiving my training at UW-La Crosse, Viterbo and Making Art Safely in Santa Fem as well as from the example of inspiring fellow printmakers. I work with earth friendly inks. I have shown at the Pump House Regional Arts Center and Lansboro Arts in Minnesota.
Second Place
"Tempest in a Teapot" - Jean Young
Felted wool and copper pot, 22x22
Not For Sale
The phrase " Tempest in a Teapot " traditionally refers to a insignificant event that is blown out pf proportion, however I have interpreted it more literally into a fantasy idea of what dangers lurks in familiar places and everyday objects. It was created using the technique of needle felting wool over a wire armature and a found copper teapot.
I have worked as a stained glass artist, teacher, and retail supplier for 28 years. During that time I have designed and created windows and installations for homes and businesses throughout western Wisconsin and have participated in many juried art fairs and exhibitions in both Wisconsin and Minnesota. Semi retiring in 2018 has allowed me to expand my art practice to try new mediums and ideas. Currently I am enjoying discovering the techniques and possibilities of working with fiber. I am drawn to the tactile nature of wool and am excited to push the boundaries of what can be created.
THIRD PLACE
"ICU" - Susan Klem
Oil, 7x5
$400
“Painting is my expression and my analysis of the world around me. It’s a progress of continual growth, which sometime fairs well and other times pushes me to go beyond my comfort zone." My hope is that my art may entice your senses and inspire memories from the past or your future which is yet to be.
Susan Klem resides in Wisconsin and has taken classes and workshops from nationally-known artists. She thanks them greatly for opening her spirit for painting.
Honorable Mentions
"First Flight" - Matthew Bergs
"Paddling Out on Nina Moose" - Kristi Gausman
"Figure in Bonnet" - Lynn Hobart
"AL 13" - Beau Lasiewicz
"Beef Tuff Sisters" - Kara Lasiewicz