The 38th Annual All Florida Juried Exhibition is on display in March in the main gallery of the Alliance for the Arts. As the name suggests, this exhibition features pieces created by artists from all over the 65,000 square miles that make up the State of Florida.
Miami-based curator and arts administrator Laura Guerrero judged the show. Reviewing the 691 electronic submissions the Alliance received this year proved to be a daunting task. Not only did Guerrero look at each digital image multiple times, she read the artist’s statement and description that accompanied each work.
“I felt like that was really key for me to be able to understand what each of the artists was thinking,” says Guerrero. “It definitely makes a difference with the success of a piece when you also know what the intention of the artist is in their treatment of the subject matter.”
Acknowledging that working artist is one of the hardest jobs in the world, Guerrero felt an obligation to look at each artist and artwork on an individual basis.
“Artists give so much of themselves and it’s only right to really take the time with each of the works and really try to see what it is that they’re trying to do with the medium that they’re working with and what they’re trying to say, and just really try to almost put yourself, not necessarily in their shoes, but just in a position to actually be able to maybe understand a glimmer of what they’re trying to say.”
Ultimately, she winnowed the field from 691 to the 56 pieces included in the exhibition. Although the artists come from near and far, each of the 56 artworks reflects the personal stories and culture of the artist who created them.
“What really unites all of these works is this very sensitive treatment, an emotional treatment of these personal histories,” Guerrero explains. “So many of the mediums or subject matters are incredibly self-referential and there’s something very unique about that, about the artists referencing themselves. You can look at a work and you know that there’s stories there that you don’t know, and maybe they’re not there for you to know, but it’s very clear that the way that the subject was treated was with incredible care.”
During her review of the digital images, and as she strolled through the gallery on the morning the show opened, one work stood out - Kathleen Kinkopf’s Vernal Slumber. It’s an acrylic painting on canvas that depicts two young women snoozing amidst lush green foliage and a flock of flamingoes against a wallpaper pattern of pink and white flowers.
“The narrative depth, the unique stylistic choices and the formal composition, the technical proficiency of the work was just a cut above the rest. It really stood out on all levels.”
Vernal Slumber resonated with Guerrero on a subliminal basis. She found out why she finally met the artist at the opening reception.
“I spoke to her and she mentioned that one of her influences was Caravaggio, and I studied Caravaggio back in school and he’s one of my favorites so I think there was, on a subconscious level, I think there was that draw to it, that draw for me as well,” Guerrero shares. “But definitely it was a work that also I think had elements that are very unique stylistically. It felt very personal, and there was also, I think, an element that felt very Florida in a way, the flamingoes, and I just felt it
was a work that would really make sense when you think about what work is Best in Show for the All Florida Exhibition.”
Kinkopf’s choice of flamingoes was somewhat fortuitous. As she relates here, Kinkopf was developing the painting when Hurricane Ian struck.
“The flamingoes came in, were blown in during the hurricane, and so I saw them appearing in the News Press all the time, so I don’t know, I guess I just thought I needed flamingoes.”
The flamingoes in Vernal Slumber are rendered with the same surrealism she experienced during the storm. Kinkopf also found being named Best in Show to be surreal. During last year’s All Florida Show, her acrylic painting Earthkeeper took second place honors, for which she received a full-page artist feature in American Art Collector Magazine.
“I’m always stunned, because I just don’t think about that when I’m painting, or even when I’m entering shows,” Kinkopf comments. “I’ve had really great success in this last year. I’ve entered a lot of things and been really happy. I just don’t think about it that much. I just really like painting.”
Kathleen Kinkopf’s Vernal Slumber and the other 55 artworks included in this year’s All Florida Juried Exhibition can be seen now through March 30, 2024.
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MORE INFORMATION:
· Laura Guerrero is a Colombian-American curator and arts administrator based in Miami, Florida. She is the Programs Coordinator overseeing exhibitions at Oolite Arts. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Art History from the University of Virginia, where her specialty was contemporary Australian Aboriginal art and Medieval/Renaissance art. Her curatorial debut in Miami was the Oolite Arts 47-artist alumni showcase, “It Was Always About You…” which she co-curated alongside former Oolite CEO, Dennis Scholl. Prior to working at Oolite, she worked in the Collections Department at the Fralin Museum of Art.
· Oolite Arts was founded by potter Ellie Schneiderman nearly four decades ago to “help artists help themselves.” Today, Oolite supports artists, advances the knowledge and practice of contemporary visual arts, creates opportunities for experimentation and innovation, and encourages the exchange of ideas across diverse cultures through residencies, exhibitions, public programs, education and outreach. “We are both a community and a resource, providing artists with the resources they need to excel at all stages of their career – including free studio space, exhibition opportunities, direct financial support and connections to art leaders. We also offer programming to the Greater Miami community, to help them better understand, and create, contemporary art.”
· The artists juried by Ms. Guerrero into the 38th Annual All Florida Exhibition are Tony Alvarez, Racheal Braley, Ricki Brandschain, Autumn Britton, Heidi Lewis Coleman, Steve Conley, Danee Damore, Lisa DiFranza, Christian Duran, Alane Enyart, Anders Fernbach, Anna Fischler, Muffy Clark Gill, Janet God, NC Hagood, Alida Hernandez, Latonya Hicks, Kai Hoffert, Susan Hurwitch, Dan Jensen, Kathleen Kinkopf, Megan Kissinger, Romas Kukalis, Amarelle Kukici, Wendy Kusmaul Keeling, Seana Leah, Felipe
Lopez, Zelma Loseke, Aphrodite Lutz, Patricia Maguire, Inna Malostovker, Karen Meredith, Chrystyne Novack, Julie Obney, Julie Olander, Tracy Owen-Cullimore, Katrina Parker, Patricia Payzant, Creighton Phillips, Ty Raderstorf, Teresa Radomski, Galal Ramadan, Timothy Reilly, Linda Reymore, John Rizza, Wes Sprecher, Gerald Stone, Alice Sundstrom, Grace Thornburg, Khaysie Tiburcio, Bridget Vizoso, Wendy Wagner Campbell, Benjamin West, Terry White, Patricia Zalisko and Peter Zell.
· Although Guerrero took great pains to give each submission individual attention, she did acknowledge that the quality of the digital images presented problems during the selection process. Beyond the challenges of assessing the size and scale of the works, poor quality photographs made it difficult to evaluate texture and details. “You try to zoom in on a computer and details can be lost,” said Guerrero. “Works look a lot more flat than they actually are so you sort of miss out on texture and so you have a warped understanding of the formal composition of the work. Ultimately I’m glad with my choices, but it was definitely challenging to make sure that I was making choices that were accurate and true to what I believed that the work actually was.”
· Although Ms. Guerrero was too polite to say so, one area in which artists can improve their chances of being juried into future show is by paying closer attention to the photographs they take of their work, particularly the lighting, and by providing close-ups of the details and unique elements that express the work’s intention and narrative.
· Two factors that particularly impressed Guerrero during the selection process was the artist’s technical proficiency and the
work’s originality. “Are the ideas fresh? Are they unique? Is it something personal, where you can really tell that this is something that really means something to this artist? And is their execution and treatment of that subject matter something that was very formally successful? If [a piece] doesn’t have an emotional impact, it can just come across as a little empty … as something you’ve seen before … an idea that was fresh a couple of years ago, but right now we’ve seen it done plenty of times.”
· “So there’s definitely a uniqueness that I think we’re constantly searching for in art, especially contemporary art,” Guerrero amplifies. “It doesn’t have to be something that’s completely mindboggling or avant-garde or anything like that, but just something that makes the artist’s unique voice, their unique voice stand out.”
· Guerrero was especially complimentary of the job that Exhibitions Coordinator Emily Radomski did in hanging the show and putting each artwork in conversation with one another.
· Regarding her Best in Show selection, juror Laura Guerrero also noted that “Kathleen’s work was just the best of the best.” In addition to its “technical excellence,” Guerrero applauded the work’s “very successful” composition and “the softness of her treatment of the subject.” “There was a very surreal, dreamlike quality to it that I personally am very drawn to, and her use of magical realism as a sensibility for her work … made it really stand out.”
· Besides the Artist Focus included in the December 2023 issue of American Art Collector Magazine, Kathleen Kinkopf has been featured in the Summer, 2023 edition of Create! Magazine
(“Nurturing Your Creative Flame: An Interview with Kathleen Kinkopf”), the Summer 2023 edition of Art Seen Magazine, the Spring/Summer, 2023 issue of The Woven Tale Press (Vol. XI #2) and the Feb/March 2023 issue of CREATE! Magazine: The Magic Issue (#34)
· Guerrero awarded second place to Alane Enyart’s acrylic on canvas Hibiscus Blooming. She was astounded that in creating this piece, the artist did not use any brushes or tools. Rather, she poured in layers to achieve the depth and movement on display in the work.
· Receiving third place honors was an oil on canvas titled Jus by Forrest. Through a combination of observation en plein air, photographic reference and imaginative reinvention, Forrest has been commemorating some of their favorite locations while creating factually dissonant harmony through semi-collaged imagery.
· Guerrero selected Rising Water by Amarelle Kukki as her Juror’s Choice.
