Each quarter of the calendar year, two of the eight artists will have the opportunity to display their artwork at City Hall. Mayor Gayle Kaler says, “My office and reception area at City Hall are the perfect locations to display the creative works of local artists. I want the Mayor’s Art Club to show everyone that Paducah truly embraces the arts and the talents of our citizens.”
In early January Mayor Kaler asked for artists who live in McCracken County to submit photos of their work with a January 31 deadline for consideration. A committee consisting of Paducah School of Art Director Paul Aho, Yeiser Art Center Executive Director Josh White, and Rosemarie Steele, former marketing director of the Paducah-McCracken County Convention & Visitors Bureau, reviewed the 27 entries on February 1 and narrowed the list to eight artists. All forms of art were accepted and the eight selected artists showcase a diversity of disciplines ranging from sculptors and ceramists to photographers and painters.
Steele says, “It was wonderful to see how the community supported the Mayor’s Art Club program in its premier year. The entries were all winners and came from professional and non-professional artists within a wide range of ages…from students to senior citizens. With that in mind, it was difficult to narrow the 27 artists to the final eight. Each juror rated the submissions on a 4 point grading system and then chose the highest ranking pieces within the various media.”
The eight artists are as follows:
· Joan Dance, Folk Art Painter
· Paul Lorenz, Abstract Painter/Drawer
· Lily Shapiro, Photographer
· Freda Fairchild, Printmaker
· Judeen Theis, Fiber Artist and Ceramist
· BiLan Liao, Painter
· Linda Odgen, Sculptor
· Jenny Fuller, Painter
Dance and Lorenz will be the first two artists to showcase their work which will be on display at the February 14 reception through March 29.
