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exhibitions
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National Juried Water Media ExhibitionWith Jurors John Pugh and Salvatore CasaOctober 3-22, 2011
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John Pugh (abstracts, and murals) will serve as the juror of this Exhibition. He is known for creating large trompe l’oeil wall murals giving the illusion of a three-dimensional scene. Pugh has been creating murals since the late 1970’s. He attended California State University Chico receiving his BA in 1983 and the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2003. He has received numerous public and private commissions in the United States, Taiwan and New Zealand. His particular mural style sparked the term “Narrative Illusionism.” He currently lives in Truckee, California.
Juror Statement – As an artist, I have chosen a path in public art in which the use of trompe l’ oeil relates to a large audience. It has served me well as a universally appealing language, inviting viewers into a concept, which usually creates a “sense of place”. One might expect as a juror of a watercolor show that I might be looking mostly for realism in the submitted work. This is not the case.
I find watercolors an art form that is so rich and exciting, and far from my own work. My favorite artists are mostly not realists, but artists that have found themselves in whatever expression they’ve landed on from a full circle. I’m drawn to works with articulate expression, vital and rich with composition, color, and movement, or an intentional lack thereof. To see artwork that clearly communicates to me that the artist has fertilized their intuitive deftness and their artistic outcome is realized from a source that is far greater than the self.
As a metaphor I often like to use the simile of music: great composers are those who successfully combine melodic form and freedom that clearly express clear emotional moods, illuminated cerebral states, and brave new worlds. No unnecessary pitches or strokes of paint, the harmonics, rhythm, and temporal transitions deliberately evoke a clear expression.
This form of expression, if found through intuition runs deeper than words. Like a smell that suddenly transports you to an indescribable moment in childhood, it inspires our connection with the universe.
Salvatore Casa is a local icon. He attended the School of Visual Arts in New York in 1949, later studied in Washington, D.C., and San Miguel de Allende, and then earned his M.A. in art at Chico State in 1974. He has shown work in hundreds of one-person and group shows across the country. He is represented by galleries in Rome and Los Angeles and is in several permanent collections. From the 1980s through the present, Casa has earned more than twenty awards in watercolor competitions including that of the National Watercolor Society of which he is a member. He has taught myriad students and is a major figure at the Chico Art Center and about town.
Butte County Watercolor Society was founded in 2007. Benefits of membership include opportunities to exhibit their work through galleries, museums and local venues. Once a month members gather for educational workshops, critiques and networking. Membership fee is $36 per year. For more information, go to our website or call 530. 570.7343.