Artists from across Kentucky and surrounding states gathered in Owensboro last weekend as the Owensboro Art Guild presented awards during its 64th Annual Juried Exhibition at the Owensboro Museum of Fine Art.
Eighty-one artists entered the competition, with juror Daniel Pfalzgraf selecting 57 two- and three-dimensional works for the final exhibition. More than $8,000 in merit and purchase awards were presented during a March 14 reception at the museum.
Best in Show went to Owensboro artist Vicki Hast for her mixed-media sculpture titled “A Willow Orb.”
Jason Hayden, director of the Owensboro Museum of Fine Art, said the juried exhibition differs from the guild’s open shows, which display all submitted works.
“This show is by design a juried exhibition to attract and support the best artists that the region has to offer,” Hayden said. “It comes from not just Western Kentucky, but Indiana, Tennessee, and the surrounding states. Really, it’s a regional show.”
The Owensboro Art Guild partnered with the museum to host the exhibition, a collaboration Hayden said has continued for nearly two decades.
“The museum is very proud to have this partnership with the Owensboro Art Guild,” Hayden said. “We’ve hosted this exhibition for about 18 years.”
The opening reception drew a large crowd and featured live bluegrass music performed by Scott Napier of Owensboro Community and Technical College, along with local cuisine.
“It’s a community favorite,” Hayden said. “We had an enormous crowd on Saturday when we had the opening reception — elbow to elbow — and everybody really enjoyed the art and enjoyed the art museum.”
Hast said she was surprised to receive the exhibition’s top honor. Her piece was crafted from willow that she personally grows and harvests.
“I was quite surprised,” Hast said. “I was so surprised that it had been selected for the show.”
Hast said she harvested the willow in January and used the winter weather as an opportunity to begin weaving the sculpture.
“I grow the willow that the basket is made out of,” Hast said. “So I harvested the willow in January, which is the appropriate time to do it, right before all the big snow.”
The sculpture represents a departure from the more utilitarian baskets she typically produces.
“I make more utilitarian baskets and tried to do something just a little bit bigger and better,” Hast said.
Hast has been crafting baskets for roughly 25 years and has increasingly focused on using natural materials, including willow she cultivates herself.
“It’s a cultivated willow, a European willow,” Hast said. “I’ve had my willow patch maybe nine years or so, and you harvest every year. It’s a renewable resource, and it comes back the next year.”
Her work also incorporates other natural elements such as bark and handmade cordage.
“There’s no lacquer on it. There’s no dyeing that I did,” Hast said. “It’s just all natural from the earth.”
Other major award winners included Ferdinand, Indiana, artist Curtis Eubelhor, who received the Best 2D Award for his multimedia work “That Was The, This is Now,” and Owensboro artist Jim Barr, who earned Best 3D for “Curio Cabinet,” constructed from sapele and wenge woods with glass.
Barr said this year’s exhibition stood out for the variety of artistic media on display.
“I was very pleased this year,” Barr said. “It was probably one of the most diverse showings of art that we’ve had, that I remember anyway.”
Barr said the exhibition featured a wide range of works, including sculpture, furniture, shadow boxes, paintings, drawings, and photography.
“Everything from Vicki’s basket to my piece of furniture,” Barr said. “That was the first time we’ve ever had a piece of furniture in the show.”
The event also set records for both participation and prize money.
“We had a really good number of entries, actually the highest number of entries that we’ve ever had,” Barr said. “It was certainly the highest amount of money that we handed out. It was over $8,000 in prizes and purchases.”
Barr said the exhibition traces its roots to the 1960s, when local artists organized the first show in an empty house before Owensboro had an art museum.
“They decided to put on their first exhibition, and it wasn’t at the museum,” Barr said. “At that time, there was no museum. They found an empty house somewhere and turned it into an exhibition hall.”
Over the years, the exhibition has been hosted in several locations, including Kentucky Wesleyan College and the Russell Shackleford Gallery, before moving to the Owensboro Museum of Fine Art roughly two decades ago.
Barr said the long-running event reflects a broader instinct among people to create.
“There’s just an instinct in people to make things,” Barr said. “Whenever people make things, there are going to be some people who turn it into art rather than just making a craft.”
Barr, who became involved with the guild after retiring about eight years ago, said he has seen growing interest in the organization.
“We’ve been having more people join the art guild this year,” Barr said. “Just out of the blue, people I’ve never heard of have joined the guild.”
He said the guild has also seen new artists participating in the annual exhibition.
“In this particular show, we had at least 10 people who entered the show for the first time,” Barr said.
Barr said the guild encourages anyone interested in visual arts to become involved.
“We’re always open to new people,” Barr said. “People can go to owensboroartguild.org and find information about the shows we have throughout the year. They can join, sign up for the newsletter and find out where we meet each month.”
Second place in this year’s juried exhibition went to Bowling Green artist Leslie Nichols for “Magda (Morgan 1970),” created from typewritten words on paper, while third place was awarded to Owensboro artist Darrell Coomes for his watercolor “Going Through Some Things.”
Merit awards were presented to Owensboro artists Tracey Bivins Helm and Darin Keith Evans, along with Michael Patrick Bailey of Newburgh, Indiana.
Hayden said the exhibition not only highlights artists from across the region but also draws visitors into the museum to experience its broader collection.
“Everybody really enjoyed the art and enjoyed the art museum — not just the exhibition but the rest of the museum,” Hayden said.
The exhibition will remain on display through May 8 and can be viewed during regular museum hours. Admission to the Owensboro Museum of Fine Art is free, though donations are encouraged.
The Owensboro Art Guild is Kentucky’s oldest continuing visual arts organization operated by artists, and it sponsors a variety of exhibition opportunities throughout the year.
