PRIZEWINNERS SHOW

Creative Arts Workshop features new work by the prizewinners of the 2010 exhibition Inventive Structures: Books Beyond the Codex, juried by Hedi Kyle, internationally recognized book artist and conservator. Recent work by Peggy Johnston (Des Moines, IA) and Erika Mahr (Astoria, NY) will be on view in CAW’s two-story Hilles Gallery from January 21 to February 11, 2011. An opening reception is scheduled for Friday, January 21 from 5 to 7 pm. The public is invited to attend.

This show further explores the visual objectives of Inventive Structures, which emphasized "creative thinking, imagination and research that propels the book into new realms," according to Ms. Kyle. Ms. Kyle selected Johnston and Mahr from the sixty-five artists who were included in Inventive Structures in 2010. More than one hundred artists from the United States and five other countries submitted nearly two hundred entries for the show.

Peggy Johnston combines a love of paper and fascination with containers in her work – art objects that she calls "containers for thought." For each piece, she seeks out distinctive materials and devises non-traditional structures to create one-of-a-kind books with unusual forms. "The style of binding, the cover material, the pages, the shape, the closure – these are all elements of what I consider a functional piece of sculpture," explains Johnston.

Erika Mahr’s work explores geometry, repetition and time in a book format. For this exhibition, she will present a series of books composed of black, unbound pages with negative spaces cut from each sheet. With each page, the cut-out shifts in placement or scale, creating a sculptural void in the center of the book. "This negative space allows the viewer to experience the entire narrative simultaneously," says Mahr. "The experience challenges the typical format of a book, in which the reader turns pages to experience a narrative sequentially."

The exhibition will also feature work by six Artists of Recognition from Inventive Structures: Merit Recognition winners Julie Chen (Berkeley, CA), Pamela Moore (Brooklyn, NY) and Susan Joy Share (Anchorage, AK) and Honorable Mention winners Kumi Korf (Ithaca, NY), Paulette Rosen (Hamden, CT) and s.c. Thayer (White Rock, NM). Each of the Artists of Recognition will show one piece in the lobby of Creative Arts Workshop.

PAST PRIZEWINNERS SHOWS

2010: Jennifer Kaufman, Prizewinner of the 2009 National Exhibition Sky's the Limit, with juror Janet Echelman

2009: Helen Byler and Carrie Mae Smith, Prizewinners of the 2008 National Exhibition Painting as Presence, with juror William Bailey

2008: Nicholas Kripal, Judit Varga, and Nicholas Wood, Prizewinners of the 2007 National Exhibition Ceramic Abstraction: Exploration and Evidence, with juror Paula Winokur

Peggy Johnston and Erika Mahr

Jan 21 – Feb 11, 2011

An exhibition of new work from the prizewinners of Inventive Structures, the 2010 International Exhibition with juror Hedi Kyle.

Also on view are new pieces from the show's Artists of Recognition: Julie Chen, Pamela Moore, Susan Joy Share, Kumi Korf, Paulette Rosen and s.c. Thayer.

Opening Reception Friday, January 21, 5 to 7 pm

ABOUT THE PRIZEWINNERS

Peggy Johnston (Des Moines, IA) holds a BA from the University of Wyoming. She is the proprietor of Waveland Studio in Des Moines, Iowa, and a founding member of the Prairie Book Collective. She teaches at the Des Moines Art Center and leads workshops and seminars across the country. She exhibits nationally.

Erika Mahr (Astoria, NY) holds a BFA from the University of Florida and an MFA from Hunter College, where she was awarded the Tony Smith Award. Mahr has exhibited work at the Clara Hatton Gallery at Colorado State University, Redsaw Gallery in Newark, NJ, and at several New York galleries. In 2009, she received a fellowship in Printmaking, Drawing and Book Arts from the New York Foundation of the Arts. She has also been a visiting artist at Stony Brook University, New York.