West Newbury artist Sara Demrow-Dent's balance of design and color was enough to make her piece stand out from almost 300 others to capture the top prize in the Newburyport Art Association's Fall Members' Juried Show.
Demrow-Dent's acrylic and graphite work, titled "Series 1," was the judge's favorite, earning it the $100 Mary Alice Arakelian Memorial Award for Best in Show in the exhibit that opens tomorrow at the association's galleries at 65 Water St. in Newburyport.
"The combination of the written word against the balance of color and shape offer an interesting modern interpretation — a mature style," judge Ron Crusan, art director of the Ogunquit Museum of American Art in Maine, said of Demrow-Dent's winning piece.
The show drew 278 entries from 160 artists, with a variety of media, including oil, acrylic, watercolor, pastel, drawing, mixed media, sculpture, fine crafts, printmaking, and traditional and digital photography represented.
Crusan selected 139 pieces to hang in the show. Other awards went to:
Mary Altieri of Newburyport, Institution for Savings Charitable Foundation Award for Oil, $50, for "Monday Afternoon."
Lisa Riordon of Newburyport, Newburyport Five Cents Savings Bank Award for Acrylic, $50, for "Don Quixote Dreams."
Beverly Mitchell of West Newbury, Newburyport Area Industrial Development Foundation Award for Watercolor, $50, for "Sparkles on the Water."
Leah McGavern of Newburyport, Strem Chemical Award for Pastel/Drawing, $50, for "Pastel."
Joanna Doyle of Kingston, N.H., Sam Sargent Award for Sculpture, $50, for "Human & Nature."
Rachel McManus of Newbury, H. Patterson Hale Jr. Charitable Foundation Award for Photography, $50, for "Essex River."
Linda Germain of Haverhill, Laura Coombs Hills Award for Printmaking/Mixed Media, $50, for "Stones Over New York."
Al Hiltz of Medford, Mildred Hartson Award for Digital Art, $50, for "Last Stop #2."
Jack Fowler of Newbury, honorable mention for his photograph, "Elegant Curves."
Rachel McManus of Newbury, honorable mention for her photograph, "Essex, MA."
Elizabeth Pell of Merrimacport, honorable mention for her photograph, "Fence Line."
Michael Forehand of Haverhill, honorable mention for his wood sculpture, "Hybrid."
The 2009 Fall Members' Juried Show runs through Sept. 27. An awards ceremony and reception takes place Saturday from 7 to 9 p.m. Gallery hours are weekdays (except Tuesdays) and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. Call 978-465-8769 or visit www.newburyportart.org.
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