This competition, now in its sixth year, would not have been possible without the generosity of Martin and Doris Rosen. On view year round, the Rosen Outdoor Sculpture Competition and Exhibition, is a dynamic component of the visual arts on campus. The winner of the Competition receives the Rosen Award, while the remaining finalists receive honorariums to facilitate the installation of their individual works. Martin and Doris Rosen continue to be a major force contributing to the cultural programming at Appalachian State University. We are grateful for their support.
I want to express our gratitude to the ten artists for participating and entrusting us with their works for the length of the exhibition. It has been a privilege to work with them. I wish to offer deepest appreciation to our juror, Jerry Peart, for his careful deliberation and sharp eye. We are most grateful for his accepting the challenge of juroring this year’s exhibition and selecting these outstanding works.
-Terry Suhre, Curator
Juror’s statement
As an artist I seldom have the necessity to publicly write about the ideas I am presently concerned with, but as juror I believe a discussion of the decision making process is helpful. First but not foremost, the artist has to physically overcome the interesting problems of public sculpture; scale, structural, stability, and transportability. We must understand that the artist is also limited by available budget. Most importantly is the artist’s ability to translate materials into sculpture with idea and spirit.
The artists represented meet these parameters and reflect a wide range of sculptural activities from the environmental to abstract and mechanical to romantic. The dominating forces employed by these artists seem to be either or both surrealism and mythology. These two private interests of the artist are shared in a rich self-revelation in these very publis sculptures, transforming private ideas into heroic vision. Congratulations.
-Jerry Peart
Ted Garner, Birds of Fire. 1992 / 6th Rosen Sculpture Competition Winner.
Sculptures
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Birds of Fire1st Place
Birds of Fire
Ted Garmer
Chicago, Illinois
Steel. 13′ x 9′ x 9′
About the artist
Education: BFA, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MO.
A Novella of Angels
Be Gardiner
Creston, North Carolina
Marble. 6′ x 3′
About the artist
Education: BFA (Religion), Univesity of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC.
Fenris
Charles Hook
Tallahassee, Florida
Painted Steel. 8′ x 8′ x 15′
About the artist
Education: MFA (Sculpture), Washington University; BFA (Sculpture), University of Kentucky.
Floating Field of Berries
Maryrose Carroll
Vilas, North Carolina
Aluminum. 8′ x 8′ x 4′
About the artist
Education: BFA, University of Illinois; MA, Illinois State University.
Lance
Kevin Barrett
New York, New York
Aluminum. 10′ x 6′ x 4′
About the artist
Education: Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD, 1980-1982.
Landmarker
Thomas Walsh
Carbondale, Illinois
Cast Aluminum. 10′ x 2′ x 2′
On display now as part of the Permanent Collection
About the artist
Education: MFA (Sculpture), University of Michigan.
Monoliths
Zoran Mojsilov
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Wood, Stone, and Steel. 5′ x 4′ x 3′
About the artist
Education: Teaching Certificate, University of Belgrade.
Speculations on Nature
Deborah La Grasse
Tallahassee, Florida
Mixed Media. 14′ x 12′ x 16′
About the artist
Education: MFA (Sculpture), Southern Illinois University; BA (Painting), University of Florida.
That Relentless Buzzsaw of Time
Jack Gron
Lexington, Kentucky
Steel and Aluminum. 15′ x 8′
About the artist
Education: MFA (Sculpture), Washington University; BFA (Sculpture), The Columbus College of Art and Design.
Three
Cynthia Willett
Brooklyn, New York
Resin and Painted Wood. 18′ x 4′ 6″ x 4′
About the artist
Education: MFA (Sculpture), Yale University School of Art.
About the juror
Jerry Peart was born in Winslow, Arizona in 1948. He attended Arizona State University where he originally planned to be an architect. After about two month in architecture school, Peart decided the art department was where he wanted to be. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1970. Peart went on to further his education at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He received his Master of Fine Arts in 1972.
Since graduation Jerry Peart has lived in Chicago where he is a successful member of Chicago’s community of sculptors. Specializing in large scale abstract sculpture, he has helped build the city’s international reputation as a center for outdoor art.
He has had numerous solo and group exhibitions including shows in New York, New Mexico, Chicago and Miami. He has placed over 20 large-scale pieces in parks, plazas and public spaces throughout the United States. His smaller works belong to over a hundred public and private collections.
A Special Thanks from the Curator
I want to thank my colleagues in the Office of Cultural Affairs; Perry Mixter, Director; Gil Morgenstern, Artistic Director for An Appalachian Summer; Sali Gill-Johnson, General Manger; Sheldon Hanft, Director of the Performing Arts Series and Forum Series; Sara Heustess, Director of Development; Sandra Black, Fiscal Officer; and Barbara Lawrence, Office Secretary. I also wish to acknowledge the support from Mr. Bill Winkler, Assistant Vice-Chancellor for Physical Plant Operations; Larry Bordeaux, Director of Facility Support Services; Evan Row, Safety Officer; and Sherry Edwards, Professor of Art. Their efforts, advice and encouragement in presenting the exhibition is greatly appreciated.
My thanks to those whose skills and talents made this publication possible: Susan Kelly for her design; Jerry Peart for his Juror’s Statement; Keith Jones and Michael Rominger for their excellent work in photographing the pieces featured in the catalogue; Kim Johnson, Robin Powell, and Steven Bean for their assistance in producing this publication.
To all of the above I extend my sincerest gratitude.
-Terry Suhre