2016 NorthStar Members’ Exhibition: “RADIANCE”

NorthStar’s 2016 Exhibition at TractorWorks in Minneapolis featured 76 artists. Thanks to LouAnn Hoppe for chairing the show and to gallery curator Ron Ridgeway for helping to stage the show. Juror Dan Mondloch prefaced his remarks on the award-winning paintings by saying that he based each choice on three things: technique, composition, and content.

BEST OF SHOW Jan Vaughan – “Emily” (photo left) This one tugs at the heart strings, feels like a painting from an idea, interesting that the figure is not the central focus because of the angle, good composition, excellent technique and content, sentimental but comfortable.

 

 

AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE Heidi Nelson – “Mall Walking” (image right) Good composition with two figures looking ahead and one looking out at the viewer, more interesting than “just a portrait,” good abstracted figures, nice tension and great composition, a careful consideration of marks but with a willingness to let go.

 

 

 

 

Judy Fawcett – “Glad for Sun and Flowers” (image right) Not usually drawn to flowers but blown away by this one, solid composition, lost edges, striking shapes, color and motion – makes me wonder – “How did she do that?”

 

 

 

AWARDS OF MERIT Karen Sorenson – “Milkweed” (image left) A difficult subject, hard to paint, nice suggestion of shapes with using detail, curved and flowing.    

 

 

 

Gail Speckmann – “Healing Light” (image far right) Subjects melt into each other: the figure into the tree into the sky leading the the viewer through the painting, aesthetically and conceptually pleasing, well tied together.

 

 

Karen Knutson – “The Highest Power” (image near right) Rhythm, harmony, and pattern in shapes offset each other, well organized exploration, a calm feeling, wonderful subtle colors.

 

 

 

 

Nancy Amerson – “Snow Day” (image left) Interesting background shapes and patterns (bus shelter), suggest a compelling story: What is going on? The love for the artist’s son comes through; nice technique especially shadows on the forehead.

 

HONORABLE MENTION

David Smith – “Nostalgia” (image right) There is a great fluidity in this painting, few brush strokes, control of values, well organized.

 

 

Tom Dimock – “An Searrach” (image left) Simple composition, nice gradation from dark to light, subtle effect, harmony in the background, pure layering of washes, feeling of spontaneity.

 

 

 

 

Dennis Murnyak – “Winter Sky” (image right) One fluid passage, direct, confident and bold, nice shadows, lights in the middle of darks.

 

Barb Parisien – “Where in the Tuileries?” (image left) Nice direct painting taking the viewer from the figures into the background, good lost and found edges; the sculpture glows.

 

 

 

Dianne Ginsberg – “For the Birds” (image right) Interesting use of media – fluid acrylics with gel, nice soft diffused layering with the birds floating above, subtle and understated like a children’s book. Hard to tell if the background is water or land which adds interest.

 

 

Frank Zeller – “Suffex England” (image left) Competent and fresh with lost and found edges, interesting use of matchstick and ink, a graphic quality, nice reflections and passage of light. Shadows lead the viewer around the painting.