The Bancroft Gallery at South Shore Art Center’s current show is “Works on Paper,” juried by Andrew Witkin of Krakow Witkin Gallery. “Works on Paper” has a diverse set of pieces, the only common denominator of them being that they are paper. From hyper realistic watercolor to abstract cut-paper works, the show was dominated by a mix of media. Out of hundreds of artists’ submissions, only 50 works were picked by Witkin for the show, and seven of them given awards.
“I was amazed at the breadth of exploration and the depth of involvement,” Witkin’s juror statement expressed. “My decisions are balanced between personal preferences and respect for the specifics of the wonderful diversity of art presented. The works show incredible creativity, dedication and skill.”
Witkin asked that the award winners be honored equally; “In this era of intense judgement and separation, I hope this group of works provides a positive opportunity not just to celebrate one’s own achievements, but those of the collective art-making community!”
The seven winners were Deborah Baye, for her striking black and yellow, abstract mixed-media piece, “Night and Day;” Tara Connaughton, for her hyper realistic watercolor and graphite drawing, “White-breasted Nuthatch;” Carol Flax, for her seaside reclaimed-paper collage, “Sailor’s Delight;” Deb Hall, for her abstract digital and handmade print, “Crack in The Ground;” Bror Hultgren for his white, textural cast paper pulp piece, “Runes of Time’s Passage 2;” Erin Juliana for her patterned, interwoven cut paper piece, “Idiopathic;” and Stephen Sheffield for his archival print of an original collage, “Going Away For A While.”
There were other notable pieces in the show. Laurie Bonner’s digital image capture, “Midnight Mermaid,” is a beautiful image. Dominated by a deep aqua color, haphazard streaks of light pink and white create the texture of light reflecting off ocean, and a dark quasi-human shape swims toward the top left corner of the frame.
Nancy Connolly’s embossing print, “From the Wild Garden,” is reminiscent of a cyanotype print. The steely blue-green background against the staunch white, long-stemmed flowers gives a dramatic contrast among the movement within the stems.
Susan Denniston’s “Shroud,” is a collection of monotype prints on translucent Japanese papers, stitched together with black thread. The prints are of looped thread or possibly yarn, with varying degrees of contrast and lightness.
Peter Everett’s “Fence,” is a rather large ink piece consisting of vertical black lines with a vague blob of darkness looming behind them. Diana Barker Price’s digital image capture, “Conscious,” is a lovely black and white shot of sticks pebbles underwater. And Jack Sullivan’s “Treasure Hunters,” is a nostalgic watercolor of four children crowded around a large blue bucket on a beach, no doubtedly admiring their freshly-caught marine treasures.
There’s something in this show for everyone, including photography, sculpture, watercolor, printmaking and collage. Each work exhibited is for sale. Concurrently on view in the Dillon Gallery is “Small Works,” where gallery artists are featuring small works for sale at affordable prices just in time for the holiday season; and the Manning Lobby Feature is a solo show of works by Esther Maschio.
(“Works on Paper” is on view through December 19 in the Bancroft Gallery at the South Shore Art Center, 119 Ripley Road, Cohasset, Massachusetts. Gallery hours are Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m.–4 p.m. and Sunday from noon–4 p.m.; for more information, call (781) 383-2787.)