Passing the ‘Best’ test: Vero artists flourish in juried Backus exhibit

Vero Beach artists made a good showing at the 43rd annual A.E. Backus Museum’s Best of the Best Juried Exhibition, on display through Nov. 10, representing nearly one-third of the artists selected, and earning eight awards. The prestigious show is the longest running juried exhibition on the Treasure Coast.

“There’s always a strong contingent of Vero artists who are represented in our entries and inevitably are part of each exhibition. We have lots of Vero visitors here all the time, not just for the show,” says J. Marshall Adams, executive director.

The panel of three independent judges selected 61 entries out of 274 submissions, before conferring a total of 22 awards in four categories: Oil/Acrylics, Watercolor, Varied Techniques and Three-Dimensional.

Judges this year were Nancy Baur Dillen, a retired professor emerita at Eastern Florida State College and a practicing artist; Kristin Heron, senior curator of exhibitions and education at the Ormond Memorial Art Museum and Gardens in Ormond Beach; and Meaghan Kent, curator of exhibitions at the Art and Culture Center in Hollywood, Florida.

After reviewing and selecting pieces for the show, they determined Best of Show, First-, Second- and Third-Place Awards, and Awards of Merit.

“The only one that I do is an award called Director’s Choice. And this year, that choice happened to be a Vero artist, Marylou Mullan,” says Adams.

“One of the things that caught my eye about Marylou’s painting, called ‘Vanishing Grove #61’ [acrylic on Masonite], was that it had kind of a modernist look to it, but it was presented in an old-world kind of frame; a very kind of antique, European looking frame, with lots of overwrought surface detail,” Adams explains.

“It reminded me at first of a Van Gogh orchard scene, except citrus instead of olives. It also made me think of the American master, Charles Burchfield, who’s known for his landscape paintings that often have a symbolic feel about sound in the environment,” said Adams, relating that same resonance to Mullan’s interlocked branches.

Best of Show went to Angela Leggio’s oil painting “Nuts,” centered on an adorable red squirrel. Clutching an acorn protectively, with an ‘I’ve got it, and you don’t’ look in his eyes, the perspective gives a squirrel’s eye view, from the bottom of the tree looking up.

Although the other categories are self-explanatory, Varied Techniques is not.

“It is a single category intended to encompass a wide variety of media including, but not limited to, drawing, pastels, printmaking, mixed media, graphite, colored pencils, pen and ink, any number of media choices that wouldn’t fit cleanly into oil, acrylic, watercolor or 3-D,” Adams explains.

First Place in Varied Techniques was awarded to Vero artist Dawn Miller, for her soulful pastel portrait, “Where Am I? Are you There?”

The artwork presents the illuminated face of a woman looking reflectively into the distance. Delicate chalk lines highlight aspects of her compelling face, as wisps of gray hair filter softly into a solid black background.

“The judges really liked it; it’s a dramatic piece,” says Adams. “There are not a lot of portraits in the exhibition at all, which is interesting. There are human figures for sure, but not many straight-on head portraits, which is notable. Dawn’s really stood out.”

First Place in Oil/Acrylics went to “Reminiscing,” an acrylic painting by Melbourne artist Anna Jo Vahle, of two gentlemen seated at a table.

“It looks like they were war veterans; one of them has a VFW cap on. Those aren’t exactly portraits, but more of a scene,” Adams explains.

“Corkscrew Palm,” a verdant work of vertically oriented leaves in various shades of green, garnered First Place in the Watercolor division for Melbourne artist Therese Ferguson.

“It’s very handsome, and the judges took to it pretty quickly,” says Adams.

Gloria Ciccarone-Nehls of Vero Beach received Third Place in Watercolor for “A Collection of Porcini,” graceful mushrooms that almost appear ready to dance.

The Three-Dimensional category includes varied mediums presented as sculpture. First Place in that category was awarded to “Work in Mahagony,” a gorgeous wood carving by Jack Shelton, from Fort Pierce.

“He’s a master wood turner. People come from all over to learn from him. He’s very well known in Florida wood turning circles,” says Adams, adding with a laugh, “No pun intended.”

Vero Beach artists took Second- and Third-Place awards in 3-D.

Second Place was awarded to Jean Gaul for her multi-layered, colorfully whimsical, ceramic sculpture, “Someone to Watch Over Me.”

Third Place went to Mirtha Aertker for “Horseback Haven,” an elaborate assemblage with numerous elements, including some raku.

Rather than jury pieces through digital images, Adams says, “We do it the old-school way of asking artists to enter their work physically. And in so doing, the judges are able to see things as they really are.”

Judges are asked to consider the whole presentation, including the frame and matting, and whether those choices support or clash with the work.

“That used to be standard, and I guess maybe we’re kind of a holdout for it, but it’s important to us for two reasons,” says Adams.

“One reason is that our annual juried show has a long, long history. It comes from Bean Backus’ own administration of the original Fort Pierce Art Gallery, that became the museum.

He would stage shows and he wanted to help the artists that he worked with; to encourage them to be better artists,” he explains.

“And so one of the things that we carry over is that we want artists to learn from their choices about what really works. And if you’re only judging just the technique, for instance, and not the whole thing the public sees when it’s on display, we think that’s a lost opportunity for learning.”

Adams says audiences are always excited to view the show.

“Because we have judges that are different every year, there’s no guarantee that artists who had their work accepted in prior years will get in. So it’s always interesting to see what is accepted.”

It is an open show, so artists compete with people from all over.

“It allows the judges to see a very broad view, which I think is exciting for them and produces a very engaging exhibition in the end,” says Adams.

For a complete list of awards and accepted works, visit BackusMuseum.org.

Photos by Joshua Kodis