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Home > Archive > Jul 19, 2007

Museum Displays American Artwork
By Ashley Langston
Contributing Editor
Southern Utah residents will have the opportunity to view a national exhibit of American artwork at the St. George Art Museum, July 21-Sept. 22.
The museum will be the final stop for the 2006 PaintAmerica Mini Top100 Exhibition, which has been touring for about a year. It is a selection of pieces from the 2006 PaintAmerica Top100 competition.
The display will also include art from the “Mini Top50,” an exhibit for paintings 180 square inches or smaller, according to a July 10 press release from the museum.
All the paintings are American scenes painted by American artists, Deborah Reeder, museum director, said. Most of the pieces are for sale, she said.
PaintAmerica is a non-profit organization with a goal to provide artists across America with opportunities. Its programs connect artists with galleries and exhibitors, patrons and sponsors, and other organizations in an effort to promote art and develop talent, according to the Web site www.paintamerica.org.
“The PaintAmerica mission is to actively support and promote artists and the visual arts through education, networking and advocacy,” the Web site reported.
According to the July 10 press release, the grand prize painting, “Indian Summer” by Deborah Chapin, is of the wetlands in the Chesapeake Bay area. “Near Otter Point – Acadia” by Nancy Fortunado, the Mini Top50 grand prize winner, depicts the ocean near Acadia National Park in Maine.
The work of several other nationally-known artists is also included in the display. Frank LaLumia, Dino Paravano, Marion Hylton, Eva Van Rijn, Julie Houck, Deian Moore, Ray Brown and Joseph Yarnell are some of the artists whose work will be on exhibit, the press release reported.
The PaintAmerica exhibit is one of the St. George Art Museum’s special exhibits. These are changed four times a year, according to the museum’s Web site, www.sgartmuseum.org.
The museum also houses a permanent collection of more than 340 paintings, sculptures, ceramics, prints, drawings, and photographs, the Web site reported.
Also on view July 21-Sept. 22 are a group of photos, prints, oil, pastel and watercolor paintings and three-dimensional pieces by regional artists. Many of the pieces in this exhibit are new additions to the permanent collection, according to a July 11 museum press release.
The display includes artists Gaell Lindstrom, Kate Starling, Del Parson, Wallace Lee, Jim Wilcox, David Jackson, Bonnie Conrad, Daren Wilding, Kim Seyesnem Obrzut, Matt Clark, Suzanne Storer, Tim Keenan and Mike and Bonnie Stevens, Willie Holdman, Homer Clark and Dale Bryner.
The combination of the PaintAmerica display and regional painting display “comprise a colorful look at both America and the Permanent Collection of the St. George Art Museum,” the July 11 press release reported.

The museum is at 47 E. 200 North in St. George. More information is available at www.sgartmuseum.org or www.paintamerica.org.

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