The Rosen Sculpture Competition and Exhibition is a national juried competition presented annually by An Appalachian Summer Festival and the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts. Since its establishment by Martin and Doris Rosen in 1987, the Rosen Competition continues a tradition of showcasing contemporary American sculpture in outdoor settings across the beautiful campus of Appalachian State University.
The competition, in its 39th year, has become firmly established as a cultural treasure and a significant point of pride for Appalachian State University and our entire region. The competition has garnered national praise for the free access to the “best of the best” in contemporary sculpture it offers for countless residents and visitors across North Carolina and beyond.
The Rosen Family proudly continues the legacy of Martin and Doris by generously supporting this important program dedicated to sharing the power and joy of public art, creating a fascinating glimpse into the world of contemporary sculpture, and building new audiences for the visual arts.
This program is made possible by the generous support of the Martin & Doris Rosen Giving Fund/Debbie Rosen Davidson and David Rosen and the Charles & Nancy Rosenblatt Foundation.
Braid, 2022
Harry McDaniel
Asheville, North Carolina
Aluminum
204 x 72 x 72
Artist statement
About the artist
Harry McDaniel was born in 1959 in Wichita, Kansas and now lives in Asheville, North Carolina. Through childhood, his creativity took many forms; it wasn’t until his mid-20’s that he began to see himself as an artist. He took a few painting and sculpture classes although he is primarily self-taught. He received several awards in early exhibitions, then his first significant acknowledgment came in 1988 when he was commissioned to create a sculpture for the Agricultural History Park in Derwood, Maryland. That project deepened his interest in creating large-scale artwork for public spaces. Two fellowships from the North Carolina Arts Council further propelled his creative exploration. Since 1999, he has installed a new public sculpture almost every year, in locations from Michigan to Florida. Throughout his career, his design concepts have been infused with his attraction to natural forms, his fascination with movement, his interest in human interactions, and his humor.
Unexpected Harmony, 2023
Kyle Van Lusk
Brevard, North Carolina
Steel, Maple branch
114 x 108 x 24
Artist statement
Lusk’s artwork is largely influenced by creative processes, the natural landscape, and tool-like forms. All of which are apparent in Unexpected Harmony. This work is a response to a Maple tree branch that was struck by lightning outside of his studio in 2023. The resulting steel construction was created as a harmonious, yet contrasting, juxtaposition to that natural linear form.
About the artist
Artist and educator, Kyle Van Lusk, has been creating and exhibiting sculpture since the early 90’s; his work reflects a variety of traditional mediums and processes. He is best known for his large-scale works in steel that have been displayed throughout the Southeast, including Duke University, Stringer’s Ridge Park in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and the Creative Arts Guild’s sculpture garden in Dalton, Georgia.
Lusk currently resides in Brevard, NC where he serves as Professor of Art at Brevard College. Lusk has worked with undergraduate students to explore sculpture and grow as artists since 1998. He has found that teaching encourages self-reflection and creative growth.
The Seven-Pointed Star, 2023
Hanna Jubran
East Grimesland, NC
Steel, paint
108 x 96 x 216
Artist statement
The seven-point stars that make up the Big Dipper asterism are associated with many different myths and folk tales around the world. The Big Dipper is a prominent constellation in the northern sky in the summer and is one of the first star patterns learned in astronomy. On the Cherokee flag the seal is surrounded by seven yellow seven-pointed stars. Although this sculpture is painted specific colors it changes depending on the time of day and season. The sculpture changes as the viewer moves around the piece and its relation to the landscape. Between nature and the sculpture, Hanna Jubran is condensing time and space. They are ever changing.
About the artist
Hanna’s work addresses the concepts of time, movement, balance and space. Each sculpture occupies and creates its own reality influenced by its immediate surroundings. The work does not rely on one media to evoke the intended response, but takes advantage of compatible materials such as wood, granite, steel, stainless steel, iron, aluminum and bronze. One of many decisions I have made is maintaining and preserving the natural quality of the materials I work with.
Majka, 2024
Viktoria Banovic
Greensboro, North Carolina
Cast Aluminum
48 x 24 x 20
Artist statement
Artist Bio
Viktoria Banovic is an oil painter and sculptor based in North Carolina, working with a diversity of materials including steel, cast metal, and clay. Her artistic practice is rooted in exploring the human experience, identity, and the figure. She creates work that spans a variety of styles and media.
Banovic recently graduated with a BFA in Sculpture and Ceramics, and her work reflects both a deep technical skill and a continuous desire for personal and artistic growth. Driven by an innate need to create, she approaches each piece with a commitment to pushing boundaries and challenging herself. Every project serves as an opportunity for learning and improvement, making her artistic journey one of constant evolution. Whether through painting or sculpture, Banovic’s work invites viewers to connect with the raw emotions and complexities of the human form and experience.
Sky Stone, 2024
Glen Zweygardt
Alfred Station, New York
Painted steel, cast bronze, cast glass, granite
96 x 72 x 27
Artist statement
About the artist
The works of Glenn Zweygardt are simultaneously ancient and contemporary. With his use of diverse materials – cast bronze, glass, iron, marble, stainless steel, stone and granite – he creates complex media sculptures that exemplify a master of the three-dimensional form.
Zweygardt possesses an uncanny ability to fuse dissimilar elements and concepts, natural occurring and fabricated forms, into structures that command the attention if the observer. This interaction of artist, nature and technology has a unifying effect on the observer’s imagery and psyche.
Duplication and relationship are recurring theme found throughout Zweygardt’s work. A carefully chosen stone, cast and duplicated in bronze, aluminum or steel becomes the basis of definite architectural themes that manifest in a range of sizes.
Kansas born, Zweygardt earned an BFA degree from Wichita State in 1967. He received an MFA from the Maryland Institute of Art in 1969 and is an emeritus Professor of Sculpture at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. Zweygardt works independently in his workshop in Alfred Station, New York. Here his work continues to evolve-varied shapes and rich surfaces, transparent and dense forms, concept and technical relationships, personal and collective perceptions-into fine art of eminent legacy.
Orbit, 2022
Matthew Amante
Winterville, North Carolina
Painted Steel
98 x 32 x 32
Artist statement
About the artist
Matthew Armante was born and raised in Michigan and remained in the state until he graduated from Western Michigan University in 2004. After college he took a job teaching art at a high school in South Carolina and stayed there for two and a half years. While teaching, he decided that he wanted to complete an MFA in sculpture. He received his MFA from East Carolina University in 2010 and currently teaches at Pitt Community College.
Armante lives in Winterville, North Carolina. He works with a large range of materials and scale, focusing a lot of energy on public art. His outdoor work has been included in public venues more than 100 times across North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Michigan, Ohio, and Mississippi. Most of his ideas are influence by nature and eastern philosophy which he blends with formalist practices.
Summer’s End, 2024
Scott Strader
Decatur, Georgia
Aluminum, stainless steel
99 x 54 x 66
Artist statement
About the artist
Scott Strader received his BFA in1990 from Georgia Southern University and his MFA from Georgia State University in 1992. From 1990-95, Strader was the assistant to Atlanta artist Caroline Monatgue. Strader is now the owner of Mercury Metals, Inc. specializing in metal fabrication and art installation. Strader’s work deals with tension and balance, giving each piece a sense of movement. The use of stainless and aluminum is important to because of its sense of permanence. Strader is meticulous about craftsmanship and the fabrication of each piece. In his latest work, he attempts to hide his welds to give the piece a look of being poured as opposed to being fabricated.
Floramingo, 2020
Joni Younkins-Herzog
Athens, Georgia
Mixed media
108 x 54 x 42
Artist statement
About the artist
Joni Younkins-Herzog is an Athens, Georgia, sculptor and former professor at the State College of Florida, New College, and Ringling School of Art and Design. She earned an MFA from Indiana University and a BFA from the University of Georgia in Athens. Younkins-Herzog has exhibited her work throughout the United States; including New York, Fort Lauderdale, San Francisco, the “Art Prize” in Grand Rapids, Michigan and abroad in Italy, Columbia, Peru, Poland, and Ghana, Africa. Her sculptures are hybrids, mythologies, and metaphors about flowers and plants. Science is the architectural inspiration as seen in organic flowing structures; Fibonacci spirals; anatomical appropriations and botany.
Burgeon Column, 2024
Andrew Light
Lexington, Kentucky
Steel
108 x 60 x 60
Artist statement
Constructed over the course of two years, Burgeon Column, is the result of a deep contemplation of lessons learned from my mentors. Pursing ideas in composition, materials, technique, and time, and rooted in Vitruvian space, the composition sprouts upward, entangling upon itself, in echoes of tall grass meadows. The interweaving of forms gives way to the individual moments, a thousand little stories all happening together.
About the artist
Sculptor Andrew Light is based in central Kentucky. Academically trained and in private practice for over 20 years, he maintains a prolific studio practice. In addition to his formal training, he has worked for two masters of sculptural practice, John Henry and Richard Hunt, eventually serving as head of fabrication for both. Having exhibited internationally and in over 15 states, Light has developed a reputation for professionalism and high aesthetic standards.
War Stories, 2014
Adam Walls
Hope Mills, North Carolina
Fabricated, painted steel
60 x 29 x 60
Artist statement
My creative process begins with a shape I see in my environment. It might be a leaf that reminds me of the childhood experience of jumping in a pile of leaves or a curved piece of paper which makes me think about riding the waves at the beach. I then build on the shapes to create a sculpture. Some pieces are whimsical and others have a profound meaning about the society we live in.
If I were a tree each limb would represent a series I am working on as my ideas grow so does the the tree of my life.
About the artist
Adam Walls has been creating art for public exhibition since 2004. He received his BA in Art Education in 1996 from Limestone College and taught art in art centers, public schools, and out of his own studio until receiving his MFA in sculpture from Winthrop University in 2005. Since receiving his MFA Adam’s work has appeared in Sculpture Magazine, been the topic of discussion on NPR and ETV, and has been exhibited in over one hundred outdoor sculpture exhibitions. Adam Walls currently resides in Tryon NC and serves as the head of the sculpture program at UNC-Pembroke.
Walls’ sculpture is concept driven and often highly viewer interactive. The conceptual component of his work is often derived from a memory that was stirred by the shape of some memento held on to since childhood. These things bring up thoughts and experiences that challenge him and guide his creative process. There are elements in much of his larger works that are derived from a love of fantasy, escapism, and pop-culture imagery. Walls’ sculpture ranges in size drastically from minuscule to monumental. In whatever wa viewers chooses to engage Walls’ work, the artists finds that it is not always necessary that the viewer understand his concept, but it is important to him that he provide an experience that might encourage the viewer to see and engage art more often.
For those who want to learn more about the sculptures in the Rosen Outdoor Sculpture Competition and Exhibition from the artists themselves, download a mobile audio guide on the free app, OtoCast. Users can select “Boone, NC” from the list of active tours to begin a self-guided audio tour through the campus of Appalachian State University. The app is available in the Apple App Store and Google Play.
About the juror
This year’s competition juror is Joseph Bigley. A native of North Carolina, Joseph Bigley holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from Alfred University in Sculptural Dimensional Studies. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Appalachian State University. His work has been exhibited across the United States and Internationally including China, the Netherlands, Spain, Montevideo, Uruguay and Berlin. A mixed media sculptor and educator, he worked as Assistant Professor of Art, Sculpture at Spelman College in Atlanta, GA for five years. He is currently a full-time lecturer of Art at Appalachian State University and is a founder and the executive director of the Western North Carolina Sculpture Center and Park in Lenoir, NC. The Turchin Center is proud to welcome Joseph Bigley as our distinguished juror for the 39th ANNUAL ROSEN OUTDOOR SCULPTURE COMPETITION & EXHIBITION 2025-26.
2024 Exhibition Winners
Rosen Best of Show, $5,000:
Hannah Jubran, Phase #1
Rosen First Place Award, $4,000:
Andrew Light, The Ecstatic
Rosen Second Place Award, $3,000:
David Boyajian, Unfurling with Seeds
Rosen Third Place Award, $2,000:
Beau Lyday, Red Astral Planes
About the Rosen Outdoor Sculpture Competition & Exhibition
This nationally recognized juried competition, established in 1987, has long been credited with enhancing the cultural landscape of the High Country region, while serving as a highlight and point of pride for the university’s summer arts festival, An Appalachian Summer Festival.
Reflecting the vision and generosity of Martin and Doris Rosen, an extraordinary couple whose lives were shaped by the spirit of public service and philanthropy, the competition brings a remarkable array of contemporary sculpture to our campus and community.
Each year, ten sculptures are selected for exhibition, and are situated in outdoor, public settings across the university campus. A cash prize is awarded to the artist whose work is chosen as each year’s Rosen Award winner, which is announced by the juror at the popular Annual Sculpture Walk, a highlight of every summer festival season. In the last several years, two additional sculptures have been selected. One is installed on campus at Appalachian House and another at the Blowing Rock Art and History Museum.
Over the years, the exhibition program has earned an international reputation for showcasing the finest in contemporary sculpture, and has become a source of inspiration for thousands of visitors, area residents, and members of the university community who enjoy access to a diverse and ever-changing selection of outdoor sculpture each season.
Martin & Doris Rosen
Vision, generosity, and a pursuit of excellence are some of the many qualities that characterized the lives of Martin and Doris Rosen. From their years devoted to building a successful business, to their lives after retirement, revolving around family, philanthropy, and a commitment to the arts, this exceptional couple left an indelible mark on the communities in which they lived and worked.
Thanks to the continuing generosity of the Rosen Family, Martin and Doris’s legacy of support for quality visual arts programming has been continued by their children, and enables this beloved exhibition program to continue to develop and flourish. In July 1997, the Rosens donated Hephaestus, a large commissioned sculpture by Bruce White, to Appalachian State’s Permanent Collection, and it adorns the Rivers Street frontage area of the Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts to this day.
On the occasion of the Rosens’ 50th wedding anniversary in October 1999, their children established the Martin and Doris Rosen Scholarship to assist rising junior or senior art majors at Appalachian State. Tireless supporters of the arts, the Rosen Family has given so much of themselves over the years to ensure that the arts remain a strong foundation of campus and community life in the High Country. We wish to extend to them our deepest appreciation.
Contact us
If there are questions or concerns, the Rosen Outdoor Sculpture Competition & Exhibition staff will be happy to answer questions and assist with the entry process as needed.
Rosen Outdoor Sculpture Competition & Exhibition
Turchin Center for the Visual Arts
Mary Anne Redding, Senior Curator
Email: reddingm@appstate.edu
Appalachian State University
423 West King Street
Boone, NC 28608
To access the online support system for your submission please contact: support@slideroom.com.