Irvin Lippman, Executive Director of the Boca Raton Museum of Art announces the 63rd Annual All Florida Juried Exhibition, which opens on August 9, 2014 and runs through October 18, 2014. The Museum is located in Mizner Park, Boca Raton, FL. More than 628 artists presenting 1,600 works from around the state entered the competition this year, an increase of 81 entrants over 2013.
“This is the state’s oldest annual juried competition that presents emerging, under-recognized, mid-career, and established artists working in all media. The Museum is thrilled to welcome this year’s juror, Trong Gia Nguyen, a Brooklyn-based independent curator, writer, and artist,” says Lippman.
Winners of the All Florida Juried Exhibition will be presented at the opening on August 9, 2014. Best in Show will receive $1,500 and there will be five Merit Awards of $500 each.
“Such a survey show gives the judge/curator an interesting opportunity to peek into the state of the state, through the eyes of its artists,” says Nguyen. “The 63rd Annual All FloridaExhibition reflects, by varying degrees, the concerns of artists living in the Sunshine State,” continues Nguyen.
The exhibition includes the work of 53 artists from 27 cities from as far south as Miami to Jacksonville in the north. Two themes were most pervasive throughout the entries according to Nguyen. The first, he says, “is nature with the artists holding up literal and conceptual mirrors to the vast landscape and pronouncing our tenuous relationship to the environment.” The second prevalent theme is one of 180-degree turns with artists distancing themselves from the obvious. According to the judge/curator, many works in this genre were, “paintings that wanted to be photographs, photographs that wanted to be paintings, and sculptures that wanted to be architecture.”
Boca Raton Museum of Art Artists’ Guild Biennial Juried Exhibition opens simultaneously to the All Florida Exhibition in the Education Gallery of the Boca Raton Museum of Art. This year’s curator/juror is Sue Archer of Palm Beach Gardens, a studio artist, workshop instructor, and national juror for watercolor exhibitions. Fifty artists entered and 43 works have been selected for the exhibition. Awards will be presented at the opening on August 9, 2014 to first, second and third place, Juror’s Recognition, and Honorable Mention. “As an award judge, I am drawn to the pieces that make me want to take a second look. A good work of art makes you want to come back another time, to feel that emotion again, to discover something new,” says Archer.
BRIO Tuscan Grille at the Shops at Boca Center is supporting the All Florida Exhibition with a special menu entitling guests to a complimentary Museum pass upon purchase. The Florida-centric menu includes Raspberry Mojitos, White Peach Palmers, Spicy Shrimp & Eggplant, Grilled Mahi Mahi, and Key Lime Dolchino. Throughout the year, Museum members will receive a complimentary appetizer with the purchase of an entrée by presenting a current Museum membership card.
Founded in 1950 by the Art Guild of Boca Raton, today the Museum’s collections, innovative exhibitions, and educational programming are international in scope and reflect the creative expression of the Florida region. In 2001, the Boca Raton Museum of Art moved into its new home in the heart of Mizner Park. The Boca Raton Museum Art School, located nearby on West Palmetto Park Road (the Museum’s original location), offers more than 100 classes in a variety of media for adults and children. The Guild remains a strong auxiliary of the Museum with more than 350 artist-members who actively exhibit throughout the area and whose work may be seen at the Artists’ Guild Gallery on Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach.