Two of my images are featured in what looks to be a fantastic juried photography exhibition at 12 12 Gallery in Richmond, Virginia. If you'd like to see the show, please feel free to attend either of the following receptions, or see the 12 12 Gallery website for their hours.
Exhibition preview Friday, September 28th from 7-10PM. Awards presentation and artists' reception open to the public on Sunday, September 30th from 2-5PM. Exhibition runs through Sunday, November 4th.
12 12 Gallery
12 East 12th Street
Richmond, VA
Here is the press release from 12 12 Gallery:
Following last year's highly successful competition, Richmond's second national photography show opens September 28 th at 12 12 Gallery. This year 155 photographers from across the country and 1 from New Zealand submitted 758 images to compete for up to $1000 in cash prizes. Juror Brian Paul Clamp, owner of CLAMPART, a gallery in New York City's Chelsea District, selected 53 of those images from 43 artists, which will be exhibited at 12 12 Gallery's National Juried Photography Exhibition 2007. Richmond photographers Jingjing Gong, Janneke Kotte, and Jane Vaught are among the finalists.
And here is a statement from juror Brian Paul Clamp:
"The task of choosing just fifty artworks from a selection of images so vast as those submitted to 12 12 Gallery’s National Juried Exhibition is always a challenge. Oftentimes one is pressed to compare apples to oranges; documentary photographs to digital exercises; fashion shots to nature imagery. Thus in the end, one is left with a group of powerful, but frequently unrelated photographs. A further challenge is the electronic submissions process convenient and practical, for sure, but also deficient in providing the juror knowledge of important information such as output selection, print quality, and scale.12 12 Gallery, South Richmond's Fine Art Gallery, is located at 12 East 12th Street, in the John B Anderson House, just east of Hull Street. Gallery hours are Thursdays and Fridays 12-4, Saturdays 11-6, Sundays 12-5, and by appointment.
That being said, I did attempt to judge the artworks based on a set of loose criteria, including not only technical proficiency (composition, light, etc.), but also sound conceptual foundation (whether or not the work responds to or reflects cognizance of artistic predecessors, or whether it stakes claim to new and relevant issues in the sphere of contemporary art). A good deal of attractive and impressive landscape and floral imagery, for instance, was not chosen for the exhibition for this reason. There is such a strong tradition of this particular genre it is, in my opinion, often a Sisyphean task to build upon that foundation in any sort of meaningful way.
The awards selected largely reflect my interest in fresh vision and technical experimentation. They also represent submissions that were consistent and uniformly strong across all five photographs. (Five clearly related artworks are of more interest to me than a smattering of images from different bodies of work.) Those artists chosen for awards generally submitted images from a single project, and all five images clearly were of merit.
I wish to extend many thanks to gallery director, Martin McFadden, who meticulously prepared materials for my easy review, and especially to all the artists who submitted work for the competition. I very much hope this show can serve as motivation and encouragement for all the artists who submitted work to continue to produce imagery; and for them to persist thinking critically about and most importantly to enjoy the medium of photography, that which brings us all together at Gallery 12 12 in the first place!"
--Brian Clamp, Clamp Art, NYC
