'SOLOS' Show Opens Friday

Eights artists have been selected to showcase their works in the Westport Arts Center "SOLOS" exhibition which opens Friday.

The participating artists – who were picked from 100 applicants – are Michael Elsden, Mary Jo Lombardo and Barbara Salinas of Westport; Claire Garcia of Ridgefield; Megan Youngquist of Shelton; Michele Gage of Pound Ridge, N.Y.; Harriet Diamond of Northhampton, Mass.; and Forrest Solis of Phoenix, Ariz.

An opening reception for the show takes place from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday. The exhibition concludes Sunday, July 25.

Richard Klein, exhibits director at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, based in Ridgefield, served as the juror  for the 2010 "SOLOS" event.

In reviewing the submissions, he  took several factors into consideration, including "staying power" and aesthetics.

"Because all of the solo exhibitions were being presented simultaneously, and the fact that they were in a single gallery space, I approached the process knowing that all the work would be seen together," he explained.

 "The criteria used in jurying this show was based on the following standards: My understanding of artist's intentions , both conceptually and technically, and the success, or failure, of these intentions; the work's originality and how it relates to similar historical and contemporary work; and last, but not least,  the power of the work to lodge in one's memory," he explained. " Good art cannot be forgotten easily, and the efforts of the eight artists included in 'SOLOS' all exhibit consistent staying power."

Another factor in the selection process was Klein's belief that "although each artist's work could stand on its own, they were being brought together under the same roof and needed to harmonize in some basic manner."

He explains, "For the sake of variety, a point was made to choose artists whose works were different than each other, not only in style and media, but also in emotive content."

As a result of his choices, Klein reports that the upcoming SOLOS show will "contain strong political content created by Harriet Diamond, striking portraiture by Michael Elsden, a unique take on watercolor landscape painting by Michele Gage, humor with a sociological slant by Clair Garcia, intriguing, text-based painting  by Mary Jo Lombardo, provocative narrative photography by Barbara Salinas, surreal figurative painting by Forrest Solis, and the lively portrayal of animals via the unusual medium of embroidery on baseball caps by Megan Youngquist."

The Westport Arts Center's "SOLOS" exhibition is now in its fifth year. Since it began, artist members have competed for designated space within the Westport Arts Center's main gallery to exhibit a unified body of recent work.

Anyone who is a Westport Arts Center member and has not exhibited in a "SOLOS" show for the past three years, was eligible to submit artwork for the 2010  event.

For information, call 222-7070. The arts center is located at 51 Riverside Ave., Westport.