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85th Annual Spring Salon

Presented by Springville Museum of Art at Springville Museum of Art

April 26-July 5, 2009

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The Springville Museum of Art is proud to announce the opening of the 85th Annual Spring Salon. This year, the Museum received a record breaking 1,102 entries from Utah and across the country. The record number and high level of talent present in this year's entries left the jurors faced with a difficult task. Ultimately, 253 works were accepted, creating a broad-ranging exhibition sure to please all. From first time entrants to artists entering for the 30th year, the exhibition represents all levels and varieties of experience, style, and mediums. The exhibition's success rests on the quality and variety of its artists and their work. This year's jury consisted of Tom Alder, a partner at Williams Fine Art Gallery, and Jeff Lambson, Curator of Contemporary Art at the BYU Museum of Art. Together, they used their varied artistic expertise in selecting the works to be displayed. With only a limited amount of space for pieces to be shown, the selection process was very demanding and difficult. As a result, only 23% of the entered pieces were able to be accommodated. Award recipients were then chosen by the jurors and Museum Directors. First place was awarded to Wendy Chidester's 'Dalton on Red.' The two second place awards were given to Sunny Belliston and Laura Trinnaman. Randall Lake, Frank McEntire, and David Wayne Meikle received the three third place awards. Directors' awards were received by Aaron Brent Harker, Jared Jackson Ellis, and David Dornin. First place award winner Wendy Chidester's oil painting 'Dalton on Red' features an old Dalton cash register sitting on an antique table. It serves as a reminder of simpler times and a different way of life. When speaking of her work, Chidester says, 'I try to bring new life to old objects and evoke memories of days past in each painting.' The Director's award winner Aaron Brent Harker's oil painting 'Shelter' portrays a beautiful and innocent deer seeking shelter from the night. It combines the wild and natural with the contained and man-made into a truly touching piece of art. Regarding his inspiration, Harker says, 'All of my life I have been intrigued and amazed with the unending and ever changing beauty of this visual world that surrounds and includes us…I have always felt compelled to express this through the art of drawing and painting.' Whatever their motivation, the skill and passion present in each work of art makes the 85th Annual Spring Salon something truly spectacular.