“HOME” National Juried Exhibition
|
“HOME” National Juried Exhibition
In 2020, the word, “home” took on great significance as a place of shelter from the corona virus pandemic. The home became a place of refuge and a trap, a place to protect loved ones and a place that incubated and spread the deadly virus within its walls. JUROR: Susan Aulik, The Fourth Wall Gallery, Oakland, CA On-line Artists Talks: Wednesday, May 19th, 6-7PM & Wednesday, May 26th, 6-7PM EXHIBITION: May 15 - June 12, 2021 |
“Home” juror’s statement:
I began the process of selecting work for "Home" with my own ideas and associations of what that very loaded word means. After viewing such a large number of pieces of artwork, each quite a few times, I realized that my preconceived ideas were in the process of being greatly expanded.
I assumed "home" would have an emotional component - sad, nostalgic, sentimental. Oftentimes, it did, but, sometimes, "home" was more intellectual, stark and analytical. "Home" could be a piece of artwork expressing grief for a loved one who recently passed away, but it could also be animals around a dinner table, complete with dress clothes, crowns and impeccable manners. Home could be fantastical: Mom floating in through the air in an otherwise ordinary living room; a house can have feet. The interpretation of "home" was as varied as the number of artists who created them. Home is a cardboard box. It's a glass toilet plunger. And, yes, it can still be a favorite easy chair. Home could take risks or be gently traditional, but the common and powerful thread is that home is from the heart. Authentic. And highly personal. No two homes are alike. A powerful piece of artwork created to express "home" is meant to please and satisfy the artist first. If it pleases the viewer, all the better. And this viewer was very, very pleased and, furthermore, inspired.
- Susan Aulik, The Fourth Wall Gallery, Oakland, CA
I began the process of selecting work for "Home" with my own ideas and associations of what that very loaded word means. After viewing such a large number of pieces of artwork, each quite a few times, I realized that my preconceived ideas were in the process of being greatly expanded.
I assumed "home" would have an emotional component - sad, nostalgic, sentimental. Oftentimes, it did, but, sometimes, "home" was more intellectual, stark and analytical. "Home" could be a piece of artwork expressing grief for a loved one who recently passed away, but it could also be animals around a dinner table, complete with dress clothes, crowns and impeccable manners. Home could be fantastical: Mom floating in through the air in an otherwise ordinary living room; a house can have feet. The interpretation of "home" was as varied as the number of artists who created them. Home is a cardboard box. It's a glass toilet plunger. And, yes, it can still be a favorite easy chair. Home could take risks or be gently traditional, but the common and powerful thread is that home is from the heart. Authentic. And highly personal. No two homes are alike. A powerful piece of artwork created to express "home" is meant to please and satisfy the artist first. If it pleases the viewer, all the better. And this viewer was very, very pleased and, furthermore, inspired.
- Susan Aulik, The Fourth Wall Gallery, Oakland, CA
