PHOTOS – Winter Fest Art Show: Jurors sometimes agree to disagree

“We can’t always select what we think is the most exciting or the most challenging, or interesting contemporary art. Sometimes we have to think of what’s going to appeal to our clients too. This was sort of a different context so that was nice,” Nicholat explained.

The art may have been chosen based on the two men’s taste, but in the more than 10 hours selecting from the approximately 200 works they occasionally disagreed.“We both think a lot about the subject matter that’s chosen for an art work, so if there’s some thoughtfulness there then maybe we’ll both see it. But then again, there were moments when Levi would say ‘oh, this is a great painting’ and I’d say ‘why would you say that?’ Then after some discussion, I might see in it what he see in it and we’d talk about that for a while, or maybe I can convince him he’s wrong,” Roach said.

He said this isn’t an insult to the art they saw, explaining they respect that each artist comes from their own experience and likely has a story behind why they made certain decisions with their piece.

One piece both Roach and Nicholat agreed on, despite its lack of strong painting technique, was a portrait by Mark Tesky titled Mark Tesky in Racing Car.“On first glance, it seems somewhat simple,” Nicholat said.

“The picture as a whole paints a really nice picture of that artist. It sort of speaks to someone who’s kind of fun.”

Roach added his perspective on it, saying “it tells a story and it’s honest. It’s clear; it’s not convoluted with strange imagery and deep meaning. It’s not about that, and I really, really like that a lot.”

The kind of art on display ranged from a wool Albert Einstein likeness, to paintings, to sculptures.

The two jurors took the different skill sets required for each style into account when making their decisions.

“Some of the painters, they are absolute masters of using materials in their work. And then maybe a very knowledgeable use of colour in an artwork, not necessarily painting maybe even a sculpture or a drawing or even some of the textile works,” Roach explained.

While only the juror’s selections ended up in the main gallery, they admired the effort put into the pieces. The requirement for the over 100 artists who submitted their work was to be a member of the Mann Art Gallery. Most were from the Prince Albert area, but some came from other areas of the province.

“One of the things I see here is a lot of talent in the area. I’m so shocked at the number of great things in this show. It’s amazing,” Roach said.

On Saturday, Roach and Nicholat were a part of a talk and walk through at the gallery. Many of the artists whose work was on display were present.

The first group in the morning consisted of several dozen people, who discussed the merit of the art work and some artists explaining the motives and techniques behind their work.

The art show and sale started on Friday with a gala and will run until March 22. It’s in the Mann Art Gallery, which is attached to the E.A. Rawlinson Centre.

claskowski@panow.com

On Twitter: @chelsealaskowsk

by Chelsea Laskowski

PHOTOS – Winter Fest Art Show: Jurors sometimes agree to disagree

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