Culture
Athens Photographer Wins at State Competition
By: Bryan Gibson
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An Athens photographer was among seven winners at the 70th Ohio Annual Exhibition, held at the Zanesville Museum of Art on Oct. 11.
Jim Shirey walked away with the First Place Photography Award, joined by six other artists specializing in watercolors, drawing, sculpture, metalsmithing, ceramics and art quilts.
The museum received 175 entries from 40 cities and towns in Ohio. Edward Pauley, director of the Kennedy Museum of Art at Ohio University, juried the selections for acceptance and awards. Pauley chose 61 works by 58 artists, representing 39 cities and towns from across the state.
Shirey has exhibited at the Ohio Annual for several years.
“These exhibits are always strong and well attended. Obtaining an award in this field is an honor,” he said.
Shirey’s winning piece, Asclepias, features a tall milkweed swaying in the cool air of the evening.
“I poked a couple of bamboo stakes into the ground and tied them to the plant with a strip of grass,” he explained. “Then I set up my tripod and took 15 images, starting on the front of the blossom clusters and progressing to the rear. That night I ran the shots through my software and combined them into one image.”
Shirey’s work will be displayed this January at ARTS/West, followed by a solo exhibit in Boulder, Colorado (“In case anyone feels like traveling west.”). He said his work is sometimes on display at Majestic Galleries, and always for sale at Starbrick Gallery, both in Nelsonville.
The Ohio Annual Exhibition is a competitive, juried exhibition open to all Ohio artists. Originally known as the May Show, The Ohio Annual showcases many of the finest artworks from across the state. The following awards were announced on Saturday:
Best in Show
Steven Elbert, Columbus
LaSalle St. Bridge
Watercolor
First Place Prints, Drawing & Collage
Kathy McGhee, Galloway
Winter Oaks Sky
Intaglio print
First Place Sculpture
Tom Baldwin, Cuyahoga Falls
The Forager
Acrylic on wood
First Place Metalsmithing & Jewelry
Kristi Kloss, Columbus
Wellhead Rupture
Silver, onyx, leather, cubic zirconium, nylon
First Place Ceramics & Glass
Sumiko Takada, Columbus
Inlaid Plate-008014
Ceramic
First Place Photography
Jim Shirey, Athens
Asclepias
Photography
First Place Textiles, Quilts & Fiber, Beaux Arts Club Award for Excellence
Karen Albanese Campbell, Columbus
Not Enough Sky
Art quilt with painted panels