There was a wonderful turnout of family, friends and art lovers, for the opening reception and awards ceremony
for the 22nd annual Juried Student Exhibition of the Silvermine School of Art in New Canaan, with over 250 people attending. The event took place on Sunday, June 24th with the awards presented by School Director, Anne Connell. “This juried exhibition is open to all students of the School and for all ages, from youth to adult. It’s a wonderful opportunity for everyone to share in recognizing the hard work and achievements of each of the award winners and for the general public to view the fine art and creative energy that is generated by the student body.” The Student Exhibition is on view through July 26th in the Silvermine Galleries. This year’s juror was Nathan Lewis, Assistant Professor of Art at Sacred Heart University.
The Best in Show was awarded to Claudia Renfro from Pound Ridge, NY for her paper and print titled “Nude.” In the Youth Category, ages 11 to 17, the Best in Show went to Mikal Berson (age 15) of Weston for his charcoal
entitled “Woman.” And for the 5 to 10 age group, 8-year-old Soren Covell of New Canaan won Best in Show for his acrylic titled “Grass Green Starfish.”
Adult first prizes were awarded as follows: Ceramics – Claudia Besen from Westport for “Norwegian wood;” Collage – Peggy Clark-Stutts from Fairfield for “Vieques Waves;” Drawing – Laura Beckering from Old Greenwich for “Nude;” Jewelry – Karina Cuesta from Armonk, NY for “Carolina;” Mixed Media – Amy Schott from Wilton for “Off
the Grid;” Painting – Alan Gorrie from New Canaan for “The Carse Eat Rait;” Photography – Anna Morgan from Stamford for “Homeward Bound-St. Pancras Station, London, UK;” Printmaking – Dana Weinberg from Stamford for “American Chestnut;” Sculpture – Richard Bergmann from New Canaan for “Jai Prakash Yantros-Sundial;” Sterling Awards presented to – Lisa Burns from Wilton for “Still Life with Garlic,” Terry Anne Lane from New Cannan for “Untitled,” Sean King from Wilton for “Red Head,” Michael Brown from Wilton for “Brooklyn Bridge from Dumbo,” and Frederick Neuwirth from Hastings-on-Hudson, NY for “Cedar Point.”
Adult Honorable mentions were given to: Rosalind Shaffer from Weston for her ceramics “Looking Up;” Lauren Kaplan from Westport for her ceramics “The Tribe;” Ann Marie Tetelman from South Salem, NY for her drawing “Quick Study;” Neila Steiner from Scarsdale, NY for her Jewelry “Untitled;” Nancy Woodward from Norwalk for her mixed media “New Hope;” Pam Ackley from New Canaan for her painting “Farm Fresh;” Azar Behjati from Easton for his photography “The Lantern-House of Abbud in Akka;” Ellen Gordon from Stamford for her printmaking “Evening Field;” and Debra Singleton from Wilton for her sculpture “Egret.”
In the Youth group, ages 11 to 17, First Prizes were awarded in the following categories: Ceramics – Violet McHale from Greenwich for “Thin Ice;” Drawing – Catherine Massa from Redding for “Still Life of Fruit;” Jewelry – Frannie Logan from Wilton for “Black Agate Ring;” Mixed Media – Elfine Dexter from Weston for “Ten Zodiac
Animals Playing;” Painting – Dan Dittrich from Bedford, NY for “Tom;” Photography – Chauncey Dewey from Darien for “Untitled;” and Sculpture- Ian McPeake from New Canaan for “Bowl;” Cynthia Mullins Award – Aaron Friedman from Wilton for his pen and ink “Telephone Pole;” and T.S. Hyon Award – Megan Caulfield from Darien for her photograph “586.” Honorable Mentions were given to: Lindsay Johnson from Wilton for her drawing “Untitled;” Louisa Colas from Weston for her jewelry “Spring Bee;” Tyler Bieder from Norwalk for his mixed media “Me;” Aiden Brody from New Canaan for his painting “Day Dream;” Josette Marcario from Norwalk for her painting “Apple;” and Adam Beran from Norwalk for his photography “640 Memories.”
For the 5 to 10 year old age group, First Prizes were awarded for categories as follows:Ceramics – Mia Konidaris from New Canaan for “Titanic Texas Taco;” Collage – Hayden Kwon from Fairfield for “Summer Flower;” Drawing – Beckett Walters from New Canaan for “Pond;” Mixed Media – Aniela Dexter from Weston for “3 Purple Puzzle Pieces Swimming;” Painting – Brian Campe from New Canaan for “SunsetRiver;” Sculpture – Ann Molecki Pakhayev from New Canaan for “Baret Bird;” Cynthia Mullins Award – Strider Bennett from New Canaan for paint & pastel on paper “Famous Inventor.”
Honorable Mentions went to Justin Mossa from Darien for ceramics “Dragon;” Benjamin Cavanagh from New Canaan for collage “Untitled;” Cameron Perkins from New Canaan for drawing “Friesian in Central Park;” Greta Hoffmeister from Darien for mixed media “Forest;” Waverly Waters from New Canaan for Painting “Self Portrait;” Alexa Kripke from Weston for Painting “Shadows in the Forest;” and Ava Buzzeo from South Salem, NY for sculpture “Figurine.”
Silvermine Arts Center is an award-winning, community based non-profit organization that fosters, promotes,
and encourages artistic and educational endeavors. The Silvermine School of Art offers courses for all ages and levels of ability. Summer classes and Summer Camp programs begin July 9th. An Open House for the Fall Semester will be held on Sunday, August 30th from 5:30pm to 7pm. Registration for the Fall Semester begins August 15th and courses start on September 19th. For more information please call 203-966-9668 ext. 2 or visit the website at www.silvermineart.org.
