The show must go on … DMC Art Program’s 55th National Drawing and Small Sculpture Show now available for online viewing
Juried exhibit features 58 works selected from 612 entries submitted from across the country
Article by Melinda Eddleman
Pandemics and winter storms can’t stop the Del Mar College (DMC) Art and Drama Department from curating the annual National Drawing and Small Sculpture Show. A juried exhibit that attracts entries created by artists from all over the United States and features two- and three-dimensional works, the show marks its 55th year of bringing exceptional artwork to the Coastal Bend.
The national show also attracts jurors who are nationally or internationally known artists themselves. This year’s juror is Robbie Barber, Professor of Sculpture with the Art and History Department at Baylor University, who has exhibited his own work across the country and even in Japan.
I was super excited to be asked to jury the 55th Annual National Small Drawing and Sculpture Show at Del Mar College […] I have known about this show since first coming to Texas in 1994 as a young whipper-snapper. This show has always had a strong reputation as a high quality refereed exhibition, featuring an excellent list of distinguished past jurors. It really is an honor to be part of that list now.
Displayed in the Joseph A. Cain Memorial Art Gallery through May 7, the exhibit features 58 works––29 drawings and sculptures each––that Barber selected from the 612 entries submitted for this year’s competition.
Barber said jurying the exhibit was a challenge, “especially given the obstacles this year in relation to the pandemic and the recent extreme snow and ice storm that affected all of Texas.”
But, the task was accomplished.
View the national show below:
. The exhibit catalog is also available at https://indd.adobe.com/view/9da66050-a37f-43bd-b9f5-99f06059c205.
Usually the juror presents a guest lecture while in Corpus Christi to jury the national show. This year’s lecture by Barber is provided as a video available at https://youtu.be/HPb-7f7-cP4.
For more information about the national show or Barber’s lecture, contact the Art Program at art@delmar.edu.
The Art and Drama Department and the College’s White Library purchase the juror’s top selections for their collections each year. The 2021 top three awardees are Nate Ditzler’s “Unreal Weather” as the $3,000 Joseph A. Cain Purchase Award, Jeffie Brewer’s “Pink Chicken” as the $3,000 White Library Purchase Award and Andrew DeCaen’s “Little Kitchen Situation 7” as the $1,500 Permanent Collection Purchase Award.
Works selected as Honorable Mentions are “Obscure Instrument for Geomancy” by Conan Chadbourne, “Evil Guy” by Michael Ehlbeck, “Babble 2020” by Jack Gron, “Circus Orbis Souvenir Print: Elephant Man and Lola” by Beauvais Lyons, “Concrete Kayak” by Gregory Reuter and “She Thought She Was Invincible” by Teresa Shields.
Barber’s thoughts about serving as this year’s juror: “Jury an art exhibition? That sounds easy, right? That is, until you actually do it. It was not easy, as there were many excellent works submitted to this exhibition. I would compare it to a foot race. The closer you get to the end, the more difficult it is to reach the end! The final cut took many hours of deliberation on my part and an intense attention to detail.”
This year’s selections make the 55th National Drawing and Small Sculpture Show well worth viewing … even if it’s online.
About the National Show:
The late Joseph A. Cain. Professor of Art and Art Department Chair from the early 1960s until 1980, established the National Drawing and Small Sculpture Show in 1966 as part of his vision to expose Coastal Bend residents to artwork from across the United States. Since then, the national show has attracted exceptional artists from all 50 states with their works exhibited each spring.
Two- and three-dimensional artwork is juried by a selected national or international artist with 50 to 60 (or more) pieces featured during the exhibit. The juror selects the top pieces with those artists receiving Purchase Awards and the Art Program and the White F. White, Jr. Library adding new artwork to their collections.
Today, the annual National Drawing and Small Sculpture Show is exhibited in Del Mar College’s Joseph A. Cain Memorial Art Gallery as part of the legacy of the man who acted upon his dream more than a half century ago.
Del Mar College empowers students to achieve their dreams. We offer quality programs, individual attention, outstanding instruction through faculty with real-world experience and affordable costs to credit and noncredit students in Corpus Christi and the South Texas Coastal Bend area. Nationally recognized while locally focused, we’re ranked in the top two percent of community colleges in the country granting associate degrees to Hispanic students (Community College Week). Del Mar College focuses on offering our students programs that match current or emerging career opportunities. Whether students are interested in the fine arts, sciences, business, occupational or technical areas, students get the education they need for the future they want at Del Mar College.