RADFORD – This year’s grand prize winner at the New River Valley Juried Art Biennial Awards was Aileen Fletcher of Christiansburg for her “Sinkland Summer Sunrise.” Fletcher taught art at New River Community College before retiring and has long been a member of the New River Valley arts community.
New to the awards this year was the Love, Mason, Preston Founder’s Award presented in honor of the three founders of the Fine Arts Center for the New River Valley: Edna Love, Lyndall Mason, and Martha Preston. Presenting the award in honor of her mother and the other founders was Diana Love. The Founder’s Award was presented to David Rehor of Roanoke for his “Atlantic Storm.” Rehor is a photographer who teaches photography and is pursuing his Master of Fine Arts degree at Radford University.
The winners were announced in a ceremony Saturday at the Radford University Art Museum on Tyler Street.
This year’s show, the 16th biennial program, was coordinated by the Fine Arts Center and was co-sponsored by the Blacksburg Regional Art Association and the Floyd Center for the Arts. Art from the winning artists is available for viewing through Dec. 3 at the RU Art Museum..
Becky Lattuca, who has been in the role of the Executive Director of the Fine Arts Center for the New River Valley for just a few weeks, hosted the award program, which included $1,500 in prizes.
Juror Mary Holland opened the awards by sharing her thoughts on the quality and range of artworks submitted for the show. Holland is the Thomas C. Gordon, Jr., Director of the Studio School at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond. To be eligible to participate in the Biennial, artists had to be 18 years or older and live within a 150-mile radius of Pulaski. Their work had to be completed within the past two years. The show drew more than 330 submissions from more than 100 artists.
The highlight of the evening was the presentation of awards. Special guests included members of Nadine Allen’s family, which contributes $500 to the Nadine Allen Memorial Award, the grand prize for the show.
The First Award of Excellence, a $200 prize sponsored by the Fine Arts Center for the New River Valley, was won by “Feather Collage,” by Mary Hogan of Falls Mill, Va.
The Second Award of Excellence, a $200 prize sponsored by the Floyd Center for the Arts, was presented to Langley Anderson of Radford for “Latency.”
The Third Award of Excellence, a $200 prize sponsored by the Blacksburg Regional Artists Association, was won by “Window in Flames,” by Ron Fondaw of Johnson City, Tenn.
Visitors to the show are invited to vote for their favorite work for the People’s Choice Award. The Tyler Gallery, where the award winners will be on display, is located at 214 Tyler Ave. in Radford.
The Fine Arts Center is located at 21 West Main St. in Pulaski. The center is supported in part by funding from the Town of Pulaski, Pulaski County, the C. E. Richardson Benevolent Foundation, the Randolph Foundation, and the Virginia Commission for the Arts and through membership fees and donations.