Call To Artists Exhibition in Print 2011: A Review of 2010's Winners

From the Exhibition in Print 2010
No! Piotr Czapracki (Poland)

100h x 90w centimeters. Hand-made ceramic, glass.

The work above, Piotr Czapracki's No!, is one of the 18 mosaics which appeared in the 2010 edition of Mosaic Art NOW (MAN) as part of our first Exhibition in Print (EIP). It is an excellent example of everything we had hoped to achieve with the competition -- to showcase talented, contemporary artists who powerfully use mosaic to convey their voices and visions to the world.

For the next few posts, we are going to:

• Revisit all 18 mosaics from EIP 2010: Six mosaics a day with comments from last year's juror, Scott Shields, PhD, Chief Curator of the Crocker Art Museum.
• Look at what's new for 2011: More prizes, expanded exposure and a panel of jurors that includes one of the most respected and successful gallery owners in the US -- Bernice Steinbaum, PhD. A master mosaicist, teacher and author -- Ms. Emma Biggs. And her husband and collaborator -- Mr. Matthew Collings -- artist, historian, critic and commentator for the BBC.
• An overview of the entry process: What is needed and how easy it is to enter. (A link to the prospectus, which is available in English, French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish can be found at the end of this post.)

All of this in preparation for our submission deadline of October 1, 2010. Selected artists will be announced in October 2010 and the magazine will be published in February 2011.

We are genuinely excited about the potential for the Exhibition In Print 2011 to be another break-through moment for contemporary mosaics. Whether you are an mosaic artist, educator, architect, designer, or collector, stick around this blog for the next few posts. We guarantee exciting information and great eye candy.

From the Exhibition in Print 2010
Late Bloomer, Pamela Goode (USA)
23h x 36w x 8d inches. Smalti, turquoise, minerals, gemstones, shell, metal, silk threads, glass on carved styrofoam base, carborundum on wire mesh branch, beaded insect leg.
Photographer: Mark Fortenberry

A Review of The Exhibition in Print 2010

Last year's competition succeeded beyond our dreams; 301 artists from 26 countries submitted 528 mosaics for consideration. Since the results of the 2010 EIP were announced, our Best in Show Winner, Meredith covered in numerous blogs and publications and received a feature article in her home town newspaper, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. Irina Charny's Primavera was acquired by the Crocker for its permanent collection, a fact noted in the August/September 2010 issue of American Craft Magazine. The EIP itself was featured in several major design blogs and was given a front-page position in ArtDaily. Thousands of copies of the magazine were sold and still more gifted to Curators and Executive Directors of art and craft museums across the US.

Here are the first six mosaics selected for EIP 2010 in alphabetical order with comments by Dr. Shields.

White Rabbit Doreen Adams (USA)
36h x 20w inches. Venetian and Mexican smalti.

"With painstaking and gorgeous attention to detail, the artist turns to childhood literature to remind us of the frenzied pace of our own lives through that of the late-running hare."

Don't Cut your Tongue on the Rhinestones Jolino Beserra (USA)
20w x 20d x 28h inches. Vintage cash-drawer, carved packing foam for the heart, and cast iron feet from a small room heater. the surfaces are covered in ceramic tile, glass tiles, smalti bits, blue mirror, dish ware, bowls, mugs, mirrored bottle bottoms, figurines, miniature soda bottle, salt and pepper shakers, brooches, stick pins, medals, marbles, GM keys. tongue milagros, rhinestones and a perfume bottle.
Photographer: Don Saban Photography

"Perhaps ironically--for a medium known for its functionality--very few of the mosaics submitted were meant to be used. Don't Cut Your Tongue on the Rhinestones -- A jewelry box extraordinaire, its usability nevertheless plays a minor role; this object is truly purposed to make viewers smile."

Exhibition in Print 2010 Best in Show
Meredith, Ellen Blakeley (USA)
23h x 7w inches. Tempered glass and various surface treatments on California Live Oak bark.
Photographer: Douglas Sandberg

"Meredith evokes the bark of an ancient tree, the gorgeousness of the glass tiles both revealed and obscured by the mortar which plays an integral role in this complex, and yet very subtle, piece."

Primavera, Irina Charny (USA)

45h x 14w x 3d inches. Smalti, gold, vitreous glass, millefiori, pebbles
Now part of the Crocker Art Museum's permanent collection.
Photographer: Ben Charny

"In Primavera, flowers and leaves grow organically beyond the picture plane to culminate in a sculptural, blue eye-shadowed Mother Nature and bird."

Ramblings Maylee Christie (United Kingdom)
70h x 60w centimeters. Smalti, stained glass, semi-precious stones, gold, mirror, millefiori.

"The work titled Ramblings focuses on the rich beauty of the artist's materials, combining an infinitude of glass, semi-precious stones, millefiori and smalti to create a lush abstraction that seems to have evolved organically and yet results in a remarkably cohesive whole."

Sidonea Menageria Candace Clough (USA)
24h x 36x inches. Stained glass, plate shards, vitreous glass, jewelry, watches, unglazed porcelain, polymer clay, keys, polished tiger eye and agate, glass globs and shapes.
Photographer: George R. Staley Photography

"A more abstract approach to nature is evident in Sidonea Menageria, a tree of life that boasts watch-bellied birds perching on its gnarled branches."
Dr. Shields summed up his Curator's Comments with the following:

"As these pieces make evident, mosaics are as diverse an art form as any other and at once contribute to and participate in international aesthetic trends. It is my hope that the pieces selected here prove as inspirational and eye-opening to the readers of this magazine as they were to me. Distinguished by a synthesis of original approach, technical realization, and formal achievement reflecting the personal creative vision of the artist, each piece, in its unique way, brings new vitality and contemporary perspectives to this ancient and enduring medium."

We are enormously grateful to Dr. Shields for creating an exhibition that did a wonderful job of both rewarding artistic excellence and offering a very comprehensive view into the wide range of contemporary mosaic styles and techniques.

Stick around for our next post where we'll cover what's bigger and better for the EIP 2011. More prizes, more mosaics, and more exposure for the selected artists. Plus in-depth profiles of our jurors and another six mosaics from EIP 2010. In our final post, we'll take a quick look at the entry process for 2011 -- what it takes to enter. Plus, we'll present the final six mosaics from EIP 2010.

To download a copy of the 2011 Exhibition in Print Prospectus click here. Available in English, French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.

To order a copy of Mosaic Art Now 2010, click here

Enjoy -- Nancie