by Diane VanDyke
Montgomery County Community College will host the Ninth Annual Scenes of the Schuylkill River Heritage Area Art Show from Aug. 29 through Oct. 19 at the West Campus Art Gallery, North Hall, 16 High St., Pottstown.
An opening reception will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 19, from 5-7 p.m., and will include refreshments and live music. The exhibit and reception are free and open to the public.
Sponsored by the Schuylkill River National & State Heritage Area, the art show features 76 original pieces of artwork done in a variety of styles and media. The artwork highlights the beauty and unique aspects of the Schuylkill River Heritage Area—a 1.2 million-acre area that includes the Schuylkill River watershed within Schuylkill, Berks, Chester, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties.
Artist Catherine Grygiel, Souderton, won Best of Show for her pastel “Dawn at Valley Forge.”
Artist Catherine Grygiel, Souderton, won Best of Show for her pastel “Dawn at Valley Forge.” She will receive $300 and an award of distinction valued at $1,000 from North Penn Art, Lansdale, for the creation of giclee prints of her work.
Jonathan Bond, Kempton, Berks County, won second place for his oil on wood panel, “Carousel.”
Second place with a $200 prize went to Jonathan Bond, Kempton, Berks County, for his oil on wood panel, “Carousel,” and third place with a $100 prize went to Materese Roche, Buckingham, Bucks County, for her oil on canvas, “Sunset Over the Grasslands.”
Four honorable mentions were awarded to: Rich Sassaman for his acrylic, “High School Runner;” Sherry McVickar for her oil, “English Style Schuylkill River Barn;” Lori Quinque-Quinn for the oil painting “Hunsberger’s Used Cars;” and David W. Thomas for his silver gel photograph “Foundation.”
This year’s juror, Ross L. Mitchell, executive director of the Violette de Mazia Foundation, Wayne, selected the winning entries.
“It was a pleasure judging the Schuylkill River Heritage Area Art Show this year,” said Mitchell, who started his career as a painter and studied at the Barnes Foundation with Violette de Mazia. “The final selections were all of high quality and portrayed a wonderful cross-section of views of the diversity of the Schuylkill River area. Artists reinterpret our surrounding environment and let us see it anew through their unique and individual lens.”
Mitchell previously served as the Gallery Director at the Barnes Foundation in Merion Station where he led the $13 million renovation of the gallery. He was also Senior Associate for Viart Corporation, a Manhattan based art-consulting firm. Currently, he is the president of the Philadelphia Sketch Club, serves as a commissioner on the Lower Merion Historical Commission and as a board member of the Lower Merion Historical Society.
Most works are available for sale, and a portion of all proceeds benefits the Schuylkill River Heritage Area.
Gallery hours are: Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-9:30 p.m., and Friday, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. For more information contact, the SRHA at 484-945-0200 or Galleries Director Holly Cairns at 215-619-7349, hcairns@mc3.edu.
Materese Roche, Buckingham, Bucks County, took third place for the oil on canvas, “Sunset Over the Grasslands.”
The Schuylkill River National and State Heritage Area, managed by the non-profit Schuylkill River Greenway Association, uses conservation, education, recreation, cultural and historic preservation and tourism as tools for community revitalization and economic development. For more information about the SRHA visit www.schuylkillriver.org.
Big News 