22nd POSITIVE/NEGATIVE

 

POSITIVE/NEGATIVE 22
National Juried Art Exhibition

Juror: Toby Kamps
Curator, Menil Collection, Texas

February 12 to March 2, 2007, Slocumb Galleries
Juror's lecture and reception: February 23, 3 to 6 p.m.

Juror's Statement: Positive/Negative

It was a great pleasure choosing the work for Positive/Negative Twenty-Two. A large box of beautifully organized slide carousels and CD's from Slocumb Galleries Director Karlota Contreras-Koterbay arrived right before Christmas. Opening it and diving into the work of the nearly 119 artists vying for inclusion in the exhibition was a fantastic treat. The range of paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs, and digital, ceramic and metal works was dazzling. Clearly, seasoned professionals, hungry students as well as inspired amateurs were putting forth their best efforts. There were surprisingly few clinkers; the vast majority of works vibrated in good ways. In fact, I made several calls to Karlota asking what was the maximum number of works she could shoehorn into the show. In the end, though, I had to be tough and choose what I felt were the best works.

My criteria for selecting work was a rough formula that I find works when looking at images without any contextual information other than the artist's name, the medium, and dimensions. I sought out what I perceived as inspiration—in concept, in execution, in subject. I tried to look especially carefully at all works, especially those on paper because I know that this medium sometimes suffers in reproduction. I made my choices with very little thought as to how the show would cohere. Pulling this disparate group together into an exhibition is the Director's job. But I know it will be Christmas all over again for me when I get my first in-person look at the amazing work in Positive/Negative Twenty-Two. I'm grateful to all the artists who applied and to East Tennessee State University for supporting this important project.

Toby Kamps
Curator, Menil Collection
Houston, Texas

 

About the Juror

Toby Kamps was curator at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston and former senior curator and interim director at the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati. He has organized exhibitions for artists such as Claes Oldenburg, Ellsworth Kelly, Vanessa Beecroft, Martin Kersels, Adi Nes, and Michael Queenland. Other exhibitions include Torolab, a design collaborative in Tijuana, Mexico, Small World:Diroromas in Contemporary Art, Lateral Thinking: Art of the 1900's, Baja to Vancouver:The West Coast and Contemporary Art, and the 2005 Nevada Triennial. A graduate of the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art and the Getty Museum Leadership Institute, Kamps has written on contemporary art and artists for numerous exhibition catalogues and publications. Prior to his CAC appointment,, Kamps was Director of the Institute of Contemporary Art at Maine College of Art in Portland, and has served as the curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego.

Best of Show

"Footprints II"
Marius Lehene, CO

Honorable Mention

  • Kristina Arnold, KY
  • Nichole Maury, MI
  • Mark Poteat, NC
  • Arturo Soto, NY
  • Stewart Wessel, IL

P/N 22 Artists

  • Brad Anderson, KS
  • Nicholas Brown, WA
  • James Burgett, KY
  • Richard S. Buswell, MT
  • Barbara Campbell, NC
  • Caleb Charland, ME
  • Yue Chen, KS
  • Mary K. Connelly, CO
  • Alan Finch, TN
  • Robly A. Glover, TX
  • Carl Gombert, TN
  • John Hovig, TX
  • Mary Alice Kelly, TN
  • Mike Kelley, NC
  • Haeley Kyong, NJ
  • Frank J. Leimbek, CA
  • Heather Lewis, TN
  • Annie Lopez, AZ
  • Timothy McDonald, MA
  • Peter Leone McCormick, CA
  • John Meza, PA
  • Tina Newberry, PA
  • Joel O'Dorisio,OH
  • James R. Pace,TX
  • M.A. Papanek–Miller, MT
  • Brian O. Paulsen, ND
  • John D. Simmons, TX
  • Forrest Solis, AZ
  • Colleen McCubbin,Stephanic, PA
  • Denise Stewart,Sanabria, TN
  • Millee Tibbs, RI
  • Ronald Tipton, IL
  • Lauren K. Williams, NC
  • Maggie Wilson, VA
  • Henry Wolyniec, ME
  • David Young, TN

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