Choice art on view in Backus’ ‘Best of the Best’ juried exhibit

Artists from around the state submitted a record number of 301 entries for consideration for the recently opened Best of the Best Juried Exhibition at the A.E. Backus Museum & Gallery in Fort Pierce. The show, the longest running juried exhibition on the Treasure Coast, is on display through Nov. 15.

At the opening reception, Marshall Adams, executive director, welcomed everyone to the start of their 64th season, noting that the Best of the Best exhibit has been the season opener for more than four decades.

Works were sorted into four categories: Oil/Acrylic; Watercolor/Water-Based Media; Three-Dimensional; and Varied Techniques, which includes media such as drawing, pastels, printmaking, mixed media, graphite, colored pencils, and pen and ink.

As in the past, a different panel of three independent judges spent a whole day reviewing all 301 original works of art to determine which ones to jury in. Artists enter the actual works, rather than digital images, and judges are asked to consider the whole presentation, including the framing and matting.

Adams explained that the approach is a holdover from the days of Bean Backus, who would encourage artists to learn from their choices about what the public would ultimately view when their work was on display.

This year’s judges were John Lark, a professor of visual art at Palm Beach State College and artist in residence at the Armory Art Center in West Palm Beach; Megan Martin, gallery director and curator of exhibitions at Arts on Douglas in New Smyrna Beach; and Anthony Record, gallery curator at the Light House Art Center in Tequesta.

The trio whittled the selections down to 74 entries and next determined the Best of Show, the awards for First, Second and Third Place, and Awards of Merit. A People’s Choice Award, determined by visitors’ choices throughout the show, is determined at its conclusion.

Adams himself chooses the recipient of the Director’s Choice Award, which this year was presented to Fort Pierce artist Allie Comer for “Opportunity.”

“Her work is a little bit abstract. She started painting that work with color in mind,” said Adams.

“She was cleaning her brushes on a piece of fabric. At the end of a painting session, she put her brushes away and she looked at the piece of fabric in her hand and realized it was filled with all of the different colors,” he explained.

After waiting for it to dry, he said she cut the fabric into little pieces which she positioned onto the top of the canvas.

“And when she did that, she realized that it reminded her of a skyline. She didn’t start that way, but that’s how it kind of evolved as she went,” said Adams.

“Then she did one other notable thing. There’s one of those tiny little squares of fabric that is not at the top. It’s kind of in the center, below, and it’s being chased by one of the drips in the canvas.

She described that as a maverick,” he explained.

“So this was like a cityscape, and that’s the hustle of a big city and the rat race. That was somebody who was leaving the rat race. They saw an opportunity. That’s where her title came from.”

Adams stressed that he and the other judges do not speak with the artists about their work, or even know who they are, until after they have made their choices.

“I didn’t know anything about how she made it or what was in her thinking until after I selected it. I interviewed her and then she gave me that interesting information,” said Adams.

Best of Show was awarded to Kathleen Sienna Kelly of Sarasota for her acrylic on canvas painting “Forgiveness, Ginnie Spring (2024),” a compelling work that reflects nature’s simple yet magnificent beauty.

The painting evolved out of a swim she took on a December day at Ginnie Spring, where the water was 72 degrees, and the air in the mid-30s.

“The sunlight was shimmering in a way I had never seen light move through the water. I was captivated,” Kelly explained.

“As I exited the water, this cypress tree caught my eye. The delicate plant life just under the surface, pinks and greens, appeared to be jewels in a treasure chest.”

She took an “all over approach” for the work, unlike her usual practice of beginning with an under painting and then working from the background to middle ground to foreground.

“It was both unsettling and experimental. The process includes being willing to repaint areas along the way with a high level of care,” she explained. She noted that she uses quantities of paint so that she can smoothly blend “wet into wet.”

First Place in Oil/Acrylic was awarded to Scott Woodward for “Backcountry Pines,” an ethereal oil on canvas that takes the viewer’s eye along a pine tree-lined sandy road to a meadow dotted with cattle, as the setting sun diffuses into fluffy clouds overhead.

The First Place Award in Varied Techniques went to Sheryl Unwin, for “Balance,” a high-contrast, black and white scratchboard drawing that features a vertical stack of rounded stones set against a monochromatic, shadowy background.

Lisa Arnold Franklin’s background in architecture and interior design is evident in her colorful, geometrically fascinating “La Vienda” painting, which illustrates a style she describes as “Architectural Mosaics.”

Vero Beach ceramist and sculptor Mirtha Aertker took home the First Place Three-Dimensional Award for her sculpture “Paper Doll,” an angelic tree-like figure topped with a doll head, adorned with flowers and cradling a goldfinch, which symbolizes joy, hope and optimism.

The museum has two upcoming events: The Floridiana Luncheon & Auction on Jan. 26, and a Jazz Brunch on April 6. For a complete list of awards and accepted works, as well as upcoming exhibits, visit BackusMuseum.org.

Photos by Joshua Kodis