Westport, CT - The Westport Arts Center announces its Call For Entries for SELECTS 2018, our twelfth annual summer member artist exhibition.The exhibition will be juried by Joe Amrhein and Susan Swenson of Pierogi Gallery (NYC), arguably known as one of the most prominent established galleries dedicated to emerging artists. Joe Amrhein is the co-owner/director of Pierogi Gallery (NYC) and The Boiler (Williamsburg, Brooklyn) and Susan Swenson is co-owner of Pierogi Gallery and co-founder and editor of Pierogi Press.
Submissions are due by May 16, 2018.
Amanda Innes, the Westport Arts Center’s Executive Director, stated, “Over the years, we have had the pleasure of working with notable museum curators, art critics, and gallerists. This year, we have invited our friends from Pierogi Gallery – Joe Amrhein and Susan Swenson – and we couldn’t be happier to bring them to Westport. We all are eager to see the exhibition come together under their direction.”
“Within the world of contemporary art dealers, Joe and Susan stand out for their dedication to representing mid-career and emerging artists. As a result of their commitment to working artists, Pierogi’s loyal following of collectors and curators seek out their installations at Basel, Frieze, and The Armory art fairs, in addition to their gallery locations in Brooklyn or the Lower East Side,” she added.
The member exhibitions are one way in which the Arts Center celebrates the artistic talent and diversity of its artist members. Now in its twelfth year, the summer member exhibition is designed to discover and showcase new works of art by talented artists in the region, and also helps new artists discover the Westport Arts Center.
The summer member exhibition has historically featured esteemed jurors, including co-jurors Charlotte Strick, Art Editor of The Paris Review literary magazine and Claire Williams Martinez, former Chapter President of AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Design) Chicago, and co-founders of Strick&Williams, a multi-disciplinary design firm in 2017; Douglas Hyland, Former Director of the New Britain Museum of American Art (NBMAA) in New Britain, CT (2016); Richard Klein, Exhibitions Director of The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, CT (2015).
Last year, the summer member exhibition (SELECTS 2017) generated a highly competitive pool of talent from across the nation, and only a select few were juried in to participate.
SELECTS 2018 will feature up to ten artists. You must be a member of the Westport Arts Center, or become a member, to be eligible for submission. The entry fee is $45. Painting, drawing, video, sculpture, ceramics, printmaking, photography and mixed media are all eligible for submission. Full submission guidelines are available on westportartscenter.org.
The Arts Center will notify all artists on May 23, 2018. SELECTS 2018 will be on view beginning June 22. For any questions on eligibility, submission guidelines or the upcoming exhibition, please contact the Westport Arts Center at 203.222-7070 or visitwestportartscenter.org.
About The Jurors
Joe Amrhein is the founder and co-owner/director of Pierogi Gallery (NYC) and The Boiler (Williamsburg, Brooklyn) and is an active visual artist as well. Known for its inventive program, Pierogi was launched in 1994. Pierogi exhibits the work of contemporary emerging and mid-career artists in a wide variety of media; from drawing and painting, to sculpture, installation, photography, and video. Their artists range from recent graduates having their first exhibitions, to veterans who have been included in important exhibitions such as the Venice Biennale, Site Santa Fe, and the Whitney Biennial. Pierogi has monthly solo shows, participates in art fairs such as the Armory Show and Frieze (NYC), among others and is also known for its Flat Files that house original works by 800+ artists. As an artist, Amrhein is a painter who works primarily with text on a variety of media, including translucent vellum and glass. He has exhibited widely in the US and Europe and lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Susan Swenson holds an MFA from the Bennington Writing Seminars (Bennington, VT) and an MA from the New School for Social Research Graduate Studies (NY, NY). Her poetry and writing have appeared in AGNI, The Brooklyn Rail, Cabinet Magazine, and elsewhere and her artist interviews have appeared in numerous exhibition catalogues. She is the co-founder and editor of Pierogi Press. She is co-owner of Pierogi with her husband, Joe Amrhein, and currently lives in Brooklyn, NY.
About the Westport Arts Center
The Westport Arts Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting our community through the arts, reaches more than 11,000 people annually through outstanding programs in visual arts, arts education, and the performance arts of Chamber music and jazz.
The Westport Arts Center receives philanthropic support from the Katherine and Howard Aibel Foundation; Anthropologie & Co.; Artur and Heida Hermanns Holde Foundation, Inc.; Bernstein Private Wealth Management; Cohen and Wolf, P.C.; Critical Mix; Delamar Southport; Design Within Reach; Dragone Motor Cars; Fairfield County Bank; Fairfield County's Community Foundation; Fairfield County Hunt Club; 4th Row Films; First County Bank Foundation; GWAY Print Solutions; Hal Prince Music; the Hall Art Foundation; The Hofstetter Baron Group; Hotel Zero Degrees; J.P. Morgan; Land Rover/Jaguar of Fairfield; Moffly Media; Newman’s Own Foundation; Northeast Tent; Serena & Lily; Shack Sackler Foundation; Sontag Advisory LLC; Steven Mancini Salon; Success Printing & Mailing; Teich Gardens; Tito's Handmade Vodka; Verde Energy USA, Inc.; Wells Fargo Advisors; Westport Now; Westport Resources, a division of United Capital; WPKN and WSHU Public Radio Group. The Westport Arts Center operates with the support of the Department of Economic and Community Development, Office of the Arts, which also receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
For more information, contact the Westport Arts Center at 203/222-7070 or www.westportartscenter.org. The Westport Arts Center gallery is open Monday - Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 51 Riverside Avenue, Westport, CT.