Diverse National Show in Roseville Attracts Visitors from Afar

Artists and the art curious from as far away as South Carolina came Saturday evening October 18th to the 405 Gallery in Roseville to celebrate the opening of Roseville Arts Center's 28th Annual Open Show. All were eager to discover the final selections for this national exhibit and learn who would receive the cash awards, including a coveted $1000 Best of Show.

Their eyes were met with a plethora of diversity—from traditional elements in oil and marble to an array of contemporary styles and intriguing media. Fifty-eight pieces by 45 artists from 20 states were thoughtfully selected by jurors Sarah Flohr and Tom Monteith of CSU Sacramento. All brought together in the gallery, according to one pleased visitor, so that "each room was exceptionally balanced and well thought out."

Each of the gallery's six rooms greets viewers with a new and exciting discovery. A first view discloses the classically posed marble bust of a woman by Santa Fe artist Mark Williamson, who took one of the show's three $100 Merit awards. Closer inspection reveals a contemporary edge in layers of gray and white laminated stone and circular craters carved over the figure's surface.

In the same room a floor to ceiling "Trophy" by Arizona artist Don Kaus, is a hanging curiosity. An animal scull on a meat hook tops a foam torso with two limbs—one a real elk leg and one a cast-off iron part. Spilling from the torso are entrails formed by aged vacuum cleaner hoses and phone cords moving gently to the hum of a small motor.

Dappled light reflected on water, a large oil painting of by Merit winner Jim Lenarz of Sacramento, hangs alongside a smaller, understated representation of a kitchen sink. The artist of the latter, Norbert Marszalek of Chicago, Illinois, won the $1000 Best of Show for another small oil painting of a tea bag.

The rusted iron piece by California State Fair winner Dave Lane of Sacramento nearly overwhelms one room, at the same time the huge, lumbering giant begs to share space with the paintings wrapped around it on the gallery walls.

Another room grabs viewers' attention with Honorable Mention Award winner, Anaheim artist Ryan LeRoy's series of animal drawings outlined with animal hair and viewed through individual magnifiers suspended away from the wall on thin metal posts. And a 60 x 60 inch acrylic abstraction by Sacramento artist Andrew Cunningham, winner of this year's $500 Special Judges Award, shares the farthest gallery space with a 4 x 5 inch ghost of a painting by a Connecticut artist.

Other Merit awards went to Debra van Hulsteyn of Sacramento and Kristen Brenneman Eno of Brooklyn, New York. Honorable Mentions also went to Yuko Carson of Carmichael, Francene Holland of Nevada City, and Paul Northway of Missoula, Montana.

The 28th Open Show is free and open to the public through December 18, 11am-3pm Tuesdays-Saturdays, and every 3rd Saturday of the month, 6:30-9:00pm. The 405 Gallery is located at 405 Vernon Street in Roseville. Artwork is for sale, with a percentage benefiting the non-profit Roseville Arts Center. Call (916) 786-7827.

Beth Rohlfes
Curator, Roseville Arts Center
(916) 783-4442

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