Far & Wide National

Introduced last year, Far and Wide National is open for applications from artists living throughout the United States. This year’s juror, Kimberly Camp brings a distinctive point of view to the selection of the artists whose work is on display. There are pieces that are innovative in both form and content and also works that have been created within the boundaries of traditional genres but nevertheless break new ground. Visitors to WAAM will experience a unique national survey of the art currently being created across our country.

JUROR’S STATEMENT

Far and Wide is an opportunity on a national level, for artists to demonstrate their command of traditional forms and their willingness to innovate, rejuvenate and reposition media and genre to create fresh forms of expression. The entries were of exceptional quality, making the job of selection difficult. What you see here is a mix of the best of different approaches, different uses of materials, and different ideas.

Contemporary thinking about art has expanded to include diverse voices, a renewed interest in realism, and the need for artists and art patrons to reconsider cultural appropriation and identity. Here is an exceptional collection of artworks that mix digital imagery, blur the lines between craft and fine art, and demonstrate mastery of visual traditions. Some of the works capture a whimsy that is far too scarce in today’s art world. Some use traditional themes and archetypal images in new ways. Others capture movement and mood in a way that is refreshing and enlightening.

I selected 35 artists from the almost 200 entries from across the United States. From portraiture to landscapes, to re-imagining archetypal stories, these 35 artists demonstrate a mastery of their mediums and their willingness to push the edges of our imagination with distinct aesthetic statements of identity and purpose. Through distinctly unique views of the subtle nuances demonstrated in color, form, and light, these artists are a wonderful sampling of the richness of an ever-expanding aesthetic vocabulary.