DISPATCH - MAY 16, 2013 (7:00 p.m.)
EAST HAMPTON, NY-
The results are in and a new slate of artists walked away as winners at Guild Hall's annual Artists Members Exhibition. In this case, the top winner had already beamed in pride once before: Stephanie Brody-Lederman has the rare distinction of being a two-time winner of the juried open call art show. She also won Top Honors in 2003. Her art was selected then by Carolyn Lanchner, a former curator at MoMA (Museum of Modern Art).
Most recently, Brody-Lederman won the 2013 Top Honors for her mixed media painting Reading Plato. She will now receive a solo show at Guild Hall's Spiga Gallery in 2015.
"It was ten years ago so I can win again," said Brody-Lederman in a phone interview held after the win was announced. "I was so shocked. I'm really excited at the idea of the show...I'm on Cloud Nine."
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Having the chance to win Top Honors and to be a part of the Artists Members Exhibition is meaningful to many artists who submit works year after year. The Artists Members Exhibition is the only Open Call non-juried show on Long Island, according to the museum. Another way the exhibition is set apart is the show is judged by a artwork professional from a major artwork institution. Often, the judges are from the New York City art world.
Judges have included New York City museum directors and curators, art critics and editors and independent curators and critics. The list of institutions they represent are some of the best museums and organizations the artworld has to offer. This includes MoMa, The Met, The Guggenheim, The Whitney, The New Museum, The Brooklyn Art Museum and more.
This year's judge is Elisabeth Sussman, Curator and Sondra Gilman Curator of Photography at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Sussan co-curated the 2012 Whitney Biennial with Jay Sanders. She also curated the 1993 Whitney Biennial.
And then there's the prize - Winner of Top Honors receives a solo show at Guild Hall Museum's Spiga Gallery.
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Another draw is the annual exhibition brings artists from the community together to see how their artwork fared and to discover who's the next artist to win a solo show at the museum. The popular show also provides the chance for attendees to check in and catch up after a long winter. Crowds typically spill out of the museum and fill the bricked entrance and walkway to Guild Hall.
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This year's exhibition carried extra weight--it was the 75th anniversary of the show. To celebrate, a special award was created for the most imaginative use of the diamond theme. The award went to Mary H. Mulholland for her mixed media painting An Event Extraordinaire.
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Following is the list of artists who took awards in this 75th year:
William S. Heppenheimer won Best Abstract for Tablet K.
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Dianne Balducci won Best Representational Work for Cul-de-sac-Ranch.
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Jean Trusty Stiles won Best Photograph for Dancing Girl and Best Work on Paper was awarded to Sue Ferguson Gussow for Pippa.
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Best Sculpture went to Goran Petmil for White Box and Jason Poremba won Best Mixed Media for Glimmer of Hope.
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The Catherine and Theo Hios Best Landscape Award went to Stephanie Reit for Vanishing Point. The Best New Artist was awarded to Daniel Runfola for Untitled, Black Diamond.
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Honorable Mentions were awarded to 13 artists. They are Emily Abramson (Self Portrait), Eva Iacono (February 20, 2013), John Hall (Montauk_1172), Carol Saxe (Catboat at Anchor), Joe Pintauro (Going Out of Business), Julia Small-Gamby (Untitled), David Yohay (Rockwell’s Barber, Park Slope) and Kevin Hart (Dream Series #9).
Matthew Satz (Ideologies Amongst Artists), Perry Burns (Peshawar), Aniik Libby (Sign of Summer), Elaine Marinoff (Aftermath) and Jackie Black (Last Meal of Charles William Bass) rounded out the list of Honorable Mentions.
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The winners of the Artists Members Exhibition gather together again on Saturday (May 18) at noon to discuss their artwork. The informal talk will be held in the museum. "Meet the Winners of the 75th Guild Hall Artist Members Exhibition" will be moderated by exhibition curator Michelle Klein, the Assistant Curator/Registrar for Museum Education at Guild Hall.
BASIC FACTS: The 75th Annual Artist Members Exhibition remains on view through June 1. The museum is located at 158 Main Street East Hampton, NY 11937. www.guildhall.org. Admission is free.
RELATED: "Top Winners of the Artists Members Exhibition - A Look Back." Published May 16, 2013.
"People and a Promise Packs the Guild Hall Artists Members Show" Published May 12, 2012.
"Guild Hall Artist Members Show Launches Another Season" Published May 21, 2o11.
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