Todd Herman, director of the Arkansas Arts Center, welcomed guests to the center June 9 for a peek at the 58th annual Delta Exhibition. The night's festivities included a lecture titled Relationships, a reception for artists and members and a preview of the exhibit, which Herman called "one of the most beloved exhibitions" in the region.
Guest juror was Elizabeth K. Garvey, a New York gallery owner and fine art dealer originally from Missouri. Her guiding principle in selecting works for the exhibition -- "Show me you have a voice" -- echoed her native state's longtime nickname, the "Show Me State."
In her lecture, Garvey said that she perused 1,038 works by 457 artists to select 52 works by 30 artists. Some were excluded for being sloppy entries or for missing information. She said she liked when the artists submitted more than one work, allowing her to see the relationship of one piece to another and most often selected two works by an artist so they could have a presence in the exhibition.
She also gave a shout out to the Delta des Refuses, an exhibition of works that were not accepted into the Delta, organized by Rachel Trusty and taking place simultaneously at Thea Foundation in North Little Rock.
"It's very empowering," Garvey said of the Thea show.
Photographer Tim Hursley of Little Rock won the $2,500 Grand Award for his work titled Pocahontas, AR.
A reception in the atrium followed with drinks and a buffet of catfish and hush puppies with red velvet moon pies for dessert. Guests were able to meet the artists in attendance. The exhibition will be on display through Aug. 28.
-- Story and photos by
Cary Jenkins
High Profile on 06/19/2016