March 23, 2019

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July 7, 2019

Sioux City Art Center Selects is a regional juried exhibition, open to all artists in Iowa, as well artists living within 300 miles of Sioux City. Artists were asked to submit a body of work for review. From 123 entries, the Art Center’s director and curator selected eight artists, based on the quality and consistency of the artworks and on how well the artworks reflected the artist’s stated ideas. The curator then visited and worked with each artist to bring a cohesive group of artworks for this exhibition.

The exhibition presents visitors with a glimpse into how some artists in our region are thinking right now. What are some of the things they are thinking about? Among many other subjects and ideas that lie under these artworks you will find:

• a grandmother’s quilts and textiles from throughout the world
• the noise produced when a car drives over a black walnut
• the natural beauty of the northeastern edge of Iowa
• the discoveries made when a painting is partially concealed by an entirely new painting
• a 1,500-year-old book on edible plants
• a father’s hometown in Iowa
• the use of humor to highlight absurdities
• the power of color

The artists have used materials as diverse as their ideas: paintings made from acrylic, oil, and latex paint; drawings using willow charcoal, walnut oil, and thread; prints using intaglio methods, including etching, aquatint, and lithography; photography; and untold numbers of black walnuts. The methods for creating these works range from careful and complete pre-planning of the composition to working one step at a time with no fixed outcome until the artist knows that the artwork is finished.

Together these eight artists exemplify the great variety of stories, interests, and perspectives of residents in the upper Midwest. We are grateful to them for sharing these artworks with our visitors and community.

Sioux City Art Center Selects 2019 is supported, in part, by a grant from the Iowa Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, and the National Endowment for the Arts.