National Midyear Exhibition to Open at The Butler
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The Butler Institute of American Art’s annual National Midyear Exhibition will open Sunday, June 19, and run through Aug. 14.
Now in its 86th year, the juried exhibition features 76 works by 63 artists from 11 states.
An opening reception and awards announcement will take place Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m. Participating artists from around the country will be in attendance for the prize announcements and awards presentation.
This year, close to 300 artists entered over 750 works to be considered for the exhibition. A catalog of the works included in the 86th exhibition will be available through the Butler Museum store.
“This year’s annual Midyear exhibition is a celebration of the status of painting in America,” said Louis A. Zona, curator and executive director of The Butler. “Painting throughout the United States continues to be traditional in nature. Abstraction is included in the exhibit but plays a minor role since so much of the show is either academic approaches or variations of what has been known as photorealism or hyper-realism.”
The show features original work in all two-dimensional media including oil, watercolor, acrylic, pastel, drawings, prints, photographs, and digital works from artists aged 18 or older residing within the United States or its territories. Juror for this year’s exhibition is William Underwood Eiland, director of the Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia.
One of the oldest shows in the country, the Midyear has launched many art careers through the years, according to Zona.
Admission to the Butler is free. The museum is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; and noon to 4 p.m. on Sundays.
Pictured at top: Among the artwork selected for the Butler’s National Midyear Exhibition is this painting by Sam Knecht, of Hillsdale, Michigan, titled “Blue Door.”
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
