watershelvedopener

She Went For a Swim by Shai Louk

Welcome to Water - The ArtisTTable's 31st exhibition! First off we want to thank not only the artists that have submitted their art to this show, but to all the hundreds and hundreds of artists that have been a part of all the previous exhibitions of the last five years.

Water is a topic that is on everyone's mind. Not only is it one of those things that sustains life, but it is a source of so much recreation and beauty. Because of its key place in all of our lives, it has become increasingly more important that we are each involved in keeping the water we have clean enough to do all the things we like and need to do with it.

Hence we present to you this exhibition wherein you will get a glimpse of some of the many relations and interactions those artists that submitted to this show have with this precious commodity. There is art in many different mediums, some very expected, like paintings, photography, and sculpture, but we want to draw special attention to the only video submitted to the show. Check out Water There is Water by Nava Segev here.

We want to thank our juror Dan Lisuk for the work that he has done by making the selections for this show. We always appreciate this service as it is not an easy thing to make certain decisions after reviewing all the submissions to such a show.

Dan is an award winning painter and a former high school art teacher. His involvement in the arts goes far beyond creating his own art and teaching impressionable minds. He is the president of the board of the Old Art Building in Leland, Michigan. His latest creative adventure has taken the form of producing jazz recordings. Dan is also an amazing cook.

Juror's Notes:

3rd place: Avital vd Wouden- Silence Water

A story. A mystery. A simple photograph taking us through layers of depth, color, people, sound, architecture, nature and, yes, the water, that ultimately seems to be the reason for everything in this captured moment.

Honorable Mentions:

Levyatan Vered- Fountain

Glass as a frozen moment of spewing water. Yes, it is glass, but we almost don’t see the glass. We see the water. No we see the glass.

Beaver Bay Blues Band - Michael Hassig

A really nice abstract interpretation of the rocky interface of land and water. The harshness of the rocks, as they defy the waves that threaten them. There is danger here- for the land and for us.

Eli Horesh- Optium 1

Ok, here’s a guy who finds true beauty in a single drop of water. How much more basic can you get? Either by throwing light at a drop under a microscope, or, in this work, seeing the dried up desert left over from the chemical content in what was once a water drop. He is a seeker and a finder of beauty.

Elliott Phillips- Water 2

Simple elements- sky, clouds, lake, and two landforms- an island and a beach. But look- all are brushstrokes- paint- simply applied, but elegantly placed in this well balanced composition. Perhaps merely a quick study on a nice day, but a visually pleasing record that bounces us back and forth between subject, medium and the activity of the painting process.

John O'Neill- Slow Settling Horizon

The last ray of the sun peeking between lowering clouds (a storm coming, no doubt) and building seas. And the fading light just highlights the crests of a few breaking waves- just perfectly placed to balance the strong warm, no, hot colors on the horizon. A seascape done in a rare vertical orientation. And it works.

Adiva Or- Gray Day

Not sure what’s going on with all the red and dark in the center of this composition, but for some reason it works for me. This almost becomes a surreal scene if you try to figure out the proper perspective and the sizes and placement of where things should be, but that only matters if you put yourself into a realm that this painting doesn’t need to occupy- it is the paint and color and especially the technique that rule here- the water on the brush in so many different degrees of saturation and is so evident. We feel the paint in its many forms as it came off the brush. Yes, that is the subject of this work- that’s the water.

There are a few more awards we would like to present that will recognize a few more pieces of art and artists.

TT Staff Pick Award: Michal Shachar- Diving and Sinking

The ArtisTTable (TT) staff has always discussed in some length the work that is submitted to each show. This Staff Pick Award is one that is given to a piece of work that touches each of us in some way. This particular painting presents not only a mood and atmosphere, but a very interesting vantage point that provides a panoramic view of the seashore. We particularly like the way the entire scene was off-set by the collage in the bottom center which seems to be wanting us to understand there is always a story and things are not always as they seem.

Portfolio Award: O. Yemi Tubi (MOYAT)

The Portfolio Award is presented to artists that show a consistent level of concentration, narrative, quality in their works so that the work they submit holds together as a singular body or portfolio of work.

The paintings by MOYAT are as thoughtfully conceptually as they are expertly executed.

TT Studio Award: Nancy Wolitzer

The ArtisTTable (TT) Studio Award is given to artists that show a serious studio practice that is both consistent and adventurous. Over the years we have been observing Nancy's work we can say that she is fearless. The work that she has submitted to this show demonstrates that point well. Presenting both paintings and monoprints, we are treated to the artist's cohesive statement addressing the theme of the show that comes from two different directions.

Tali's Choice Award: Autumn - Jacques Safran

What immediately strikes me about this painting by Jacques Safran is how by using nearly the same colors as the ground and trees in the water we still understand completely that what he has given us is water. The reflected colors say it all and the complete the commentary that he is making about the atmosphere the felt on this autumnal day.

Royce's Choice Award: Dawn Pond - Ellie Harold

There is so much to be excited about when I look at this painting. Everything about it expounds on the wonder that those of us that love to be in and around water feel when we come upon a body of water.

Water People's Choice Award:

This is really where you as a viewer come into the equation and become part of the process. Please take the time to vote because your vote really will determine who will win this award for this exhibition. Voting will be open until 12 March 2019.

We would like to announce that, Edna Ben Arie is the winner of the People's Choice Award for Water. The winning painting is Walking in the Rain, you can see Edna's winning entry by clicking Here.

The artwork chosen to represent this exhibition is She Went For a Swim by Shay Louk. This painting was awarded First Place by our juror, and says just about everything that we like to think about when we consider the many ways we might enjoy water.

If you read this far, we thank you very much, we appreciate your interest and engagement in the arts and in particular the work that has taken to put this show together. We appreciate all the artists in the show and now we can see just what water means to them.

Now please Click Here and go enjoy Water now.

Water Exhibition Artists: