What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1482255
"Our Art, Our Region, Our Time" was initiated in 2021, in part to mark the 30th anniversary of the Walton Arts Center. "There were a lot of different ideas tossed around, and Peter [Lane, WAC CEO] asked me to do research on a retrospective of every artist who had been in the gallery and get selections from them," remembers Jason Smith, director of executive administration, classical music and special initiatives for WAC. "The words were barely done being spoken when I said we would serve our community better if we did a regional art show. "The art community has always wanted WAC to be that hub. We are a beautiful convener," he goes on. "People come here and come together to participate in the arts — to watch performances, to listen to music. We've been missing that place for visual arts and visual artists to come together." In the exhibition's first year, more than 200 submissions were received and about 75 of them were displayed. This year, there was "a 55% increase in participation from our last call for art," Thompson says, for a total of more than 90 works selected. Working with Smith, the pair discovered that as happened in 2021, "themes of isolation and self-reflection are still strong among the works, but this year the size and scale of the individual art works are much larger." Also, she adds, "we noticed so many faces in this work, almost as though people were unveiling themselves in a way." OctOber 23-29, 2022 What's up! 9 See Our Art Page 41 "Hoodoos in the Fog on Petit Jean" Artist: Daniel Coston of Fayetteville Acrylic paint "I enjoy re-creating things I have seen over the years. My work is a kind of augmented memory. The scene may depict a Natural State setting but also what people have done to the land … old home places, barns and cotton gins. I paint Arkansas as it was and as it is … now." "Quince & Berries" Artist: Derek Scott of Bentonville Oil & charcoal "I am a self-taught artist who simply loves the creative process. Period. My goal is to share my interpretation of everyday objects, using light and its effect on that composition to keep the viewer's attention and interest." "Dupatta #9" Artist: Shabana Kauser of Fayetteville Oil on canvas "Along with ornate, precisely-rendered jewelry, the Dupatta, a traditional scarf worn in South Asian countries, permeates portraits, referencing not only my personal journey, but those of past, present, and future generations of immigrants. Influenced by my shared experiences as the daughter of Pakistani immigrants, and as an immigrant myself to the United States, my detailed portraits of South Asian immigrant women explore memories of cultural, social, and economic transition." "Communion" Artist: Joelle Storet of Fayetteville Acrylic and pastel "Growing up in Belgium exposed me to a wide array of comic books which the country is known for … Avant-garde portraiture from influences like these stuck with me. a portrait of a family friend of my grandmother's at church in the then occupied Belgian-Congo, an homage to my roots." "The Illustrating Man" Artist: Stephanie Lewis of Bella Vista Charcoal on paper "It's a portrait of a former student of mine, tattoo artist Dustin Gray. He was the first student to ever invite me to one of his exhibits in which he had a work accepted. He was the artist I chose to illustrate my first tattoo. He's always been a 'character,' as you can see by my portrait of him, which I drew from a bathroom selfie he gave me." "Sandbox" Artist: Susan Idlet of Fayetteville Colored pencil "My work is all about clear, intense color. I scrub my pencils down to their nubs. I receive inspiration from photo- graphs and phrases/words, and my pencils are often drawn to the humor- ous side. I like my work to surprise folks and sometimes bring a smile — with a heavy dose of saturated color."