March 27, 2012 – The Art League

Birds of Play, above, was winner of the Evelyn Turner Award for outstanding abstract work in this month’s “Play” exhibit, in The Art League Gallery through April 2. Juror Judy Bass, who selected the acrylic painting on canvas for the award, praised the painting’s composition and sense of color, as well as the looseness and sense of movement created by the birds.

We asked the artist, Ahmed Alkarkhi — profiled in this 2010 NPR story not long after moving to the U.S. — to tell us a little about the painting.

Ahmed said the painting should appeal to the “thrill of discovery” and stimulate a sense of adventure and imagination, much like fantasy or adventure literature. “Life is an adventure,” he wrote, drawing a comparison to his arrival in the U.S., a place he knew nothing about. Ahmed came here from Syria in 2009 after leaving Baghdad in 2006. His home in Iraq continues to inspire his work, as featured in this YouTube video.

Different media produce different effects, Ahmed said, saying that he tries different raw materials and surfaces depending on what is called for. Ahmed works in acrylic, watercolor, and oil.

Ahmed won the Urquhart Award last year for his painting, DC Kaffee Freedom, in the “Emancipation and Freedom” exhibit.

Our Q&A with this month’s other award winner is here.

Exhibition and residency opportunities courtesy of FindArtInfoBank.com:

The XL-XS Show – MD
Deadline: April 18, 2012. The Maryland Federation of Art invites all artists residing in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada to enter its national juried competition for artists working in extra large and extra small formats. Any two-dimensional submissions following exhibition guidelines will be considered by the juror. The selected artworks will be on exhibit June 24 – August 5, 2012 at The Art Gallery, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, by invitation to MFA. $1,000 in Cash Awards. Juror: Barry Nemett, Chair of Painting Dept., Maryland Institute College of Art. One-two entries $35 (MFA members $20); additional four entries $5.00 each. Download prospectus (PDF format) at: http://www.mdfedart.com/exhibits/2012_XL_XS/XL-XS_2012_Prospectus.pdf. Questions? Please contact Kyle Freeman at [email protected] or call 410-268-4566. http://www.mdfedart.com/pages/call_for_artists.php

Adirondacks National Exhibition of American Watercolors – NY
Deadline: April 9, 2012. View in Old Forge, NY announces a call to artists for a juried exhibition, August 11 – October 8, 2012. Jurors: Pat San Soucie, Paul Jackson. Competitive exhibition open to all artists working with water-media on paper; only water soluble media on unvarnished paper will be considered. Water soluble media include: acrylics, casein, egg tempera, gouache, inks, and transparent and opaque watercolor. Collage mechanicals, including computer imaging and prints are not eligible. $30 members/$40 non-members for up to two entries. Visit website for prospectus, http://www.viewarts.org/View_Watercolors.cfm, or send a SASE to: PO Box 1144, Old Forge, NY 13420. Questions? Contact Linda Weal at [email protected] or 315.369.6411. http://www.viewarts.org

Call to artists for Nelson Gallery’s 13th Annual Juried Show – VA
Deadline: June 12, 12. Call to artists for 13th Annual Juried Show at NELSON GALLERY (an artists’ cooperative in Lexington, Virginia.) Eligibility: mid-Atlantic residents (NC, SC, VA, PA, MD, DE, DC). Prizes include: $1,000 best in show and Members’ Choice Award of solo show at Nelson Gallery in July, 2013, plus additional cash awards. Theme: “Feast on This” interpreted as artist wishes. Two or three dimensional art up to 50 inches, length or width. No crafts. Juror: Matt Klos, MFA, U of MD, chair of Art Dept at Anne Arundel Community College, winner of many awards, oils in New American Paintings. Entry fee: $30 for 3 jpgs. All works must be for sale. For more information and to download prospectus, contact [email protected] or call Nelson Gallery at 540.463.9827.

Continued: Continue reading Artist Opportunities from FindArtInfoBank

Day: March 27, 2012

Q&A with Award Winner Ahmed Alkarkhi

Artist Opportunities from FindArtInfoBank