Studio B in Boyertown awarded $500 in money prizes to artists during the opening of the studio’s 9th annual show entitled “Agri-CULTURE” featuring art inspired by agriculture. Miles DeCoster, professor at Kutztown University, served as juror for the exhibit.
First place was awarded to Jim Meehan for a mixed media work titled “Stormy Weather.”
Kristen Woodward took 2nd place for her encaustic “Megan and Morag.”
Honorable mentions were awarded to Rhonda Counts, for an acrylic painting “A Call in Oley Valley”; Pirjo L’Esperance for an acrylic painting titled “The Herd”; Marilyn Fox, for her oil painting “Farm Truck”; Jennifer Swoyer, for an acrylic painting titled “Moon Rise.”
Also honored were Cheryl Hart’s oil painting titled “Changing Hats”; Bob Hakun’s assemblage he named “Life Springeth Out of the Cruelest of Rocks”; Steve Fabian’s oil painting called “No Bull”; Sharon Merkel’s mixed media titled “Working Border Collie.”
And “Angela Izzo’s oil painting on copper titled “Sinner”; and Suzanne Fellows’ painting titled “Black Prince” took honorable mention awards.
“We are always very excited to see what our artists bring to this show,” noted Biebuyck. “They have wowed us with their innovation and fresh takes on the traditional subjects of agriculture and farming.”
Entries in all media are offered from artists in Berks County and beyond and over the years have revealed a broad spectrum of work, from sculpture to watercolor to linocuts to mixed media.
The show continues through Sunday, February 12, 2017. Please visit studiobbb.org for more information.
Each year artists prepare to meet Biebuck’s creative challenge on the theme. Fine artist and former art teacher Dave Larson was awarded “Best in Show” at the studio’s 2009 inaugural exhibit entitled “The Farm” for an oil painting showcasing Oley’s “Sacred Oak.”
In January 2010 former junior high English teacher and area historian Bob Wood took Best in Show for his acrylic conceptual painting entitled “Stark Engine.”In January 2011, Travis Trainer, was awarded “Best in Show” for his captivating painting of crows on a wooden fence entitled “Black Diamond.”
In January 2012, Barrie Maguire’s “Okie’s Pal,” an oil painting of an ancient, rusted car, took Best in Show. In January 2013, Carol Sumner’s painting “Le Ferme,” an abstract presentation of the area’s farmsteads, was awarded top prize.
In January 2014, Joanne Schlosser’s “Hammy Tale,” a creative homemade book, was named Best in Show. In January 2015, Bob Wood’s acrylic painting “Annie Weeding Lima Beans”-an iconic example of his farm and garden series-was selected for first place honors in the exhibit, titled “The Modern Farm.”
In January 2016, Biebuyck took the term “Cultivate” as the exhibit’s theme and invited Pottstown’s Art Fusion’s director as juror to “cultivate” the collaboration between the studios. Hilary Fraley was awarded Best in Show for her oil painting entitled “Corn.”
Studio B, located in the heart of historic Boyertown, is the home of the Arts and Activities Alliance, a committee of Building a Better Boyertown, a nonprofit Main Street program dedicated to revitalizing small towns.
