USM 2023 National Juried Painting Exhibition, Visiting Artist Lecture

Mon, 10/09/2023 - 03:59pm | By: Caroline Neese

The Museum of Art in The University of Southern Mississippi’s (USM) School of Performing and Visual Arts presents the 2023 National Juried Painting Exhibition on Oct. 9-Nov. 3. The exhibition’s juror, USM alumnus Ken Weathersby, will hold a public lecture on Thursday, November 2, at 5:30 p.m., in the Gonzales Auditorium, Liberal Arts Building Room 108, with a reception and awards ceremony to follow in the Gallery of Art and Design, located in the George Hurst Building on the Hattiesburg campus. Free and open to the public.

The 2023 National Juried Painting Exhibition is a biennial exhibition that began in 2017 to showcase the best contemporary works by artists across the country. This year’s exhibition features 41 contemporary artworks by artists from 22 states, including five Mississippi artists. Featured works include an array of artistic styles and approaches to painting, from portraits and landscapes to abstract works and mixed-media constructions. The exhibition and events were made possible in part by the generous support from Partners for the Arts.

USM alumnus Ken Weathersby returns to his alma mater to serve as judge of the National Juried Painting Exhibition and deliver a public lecture.

“I’m happy that I’m reconnecting in this way to my alma mater, and that I can contribute to what is a great bi-annual event for the Museum of Art,” said Weathersby.

Weathersby earned his BFA from Southern Miss and has an MFA in Painting from Cranbrook Academy of Art. He was born in Gulfport, Miss., and has lived in the New York City area since 1990.

“As I jury this exhibition and come back to visit Southern Miss, I’m especially looking forward to seeing Professor Jim Meade, who was important to me in my life as both an artist and a teacher of art,” said Weathersby. “I want to give my support and encouragement to this program which was foundational to my path in life.”

Weathersby's return to Southern Miss as a visiting artist is especially important to him as he was deeply influenced as a student when professional artists would visit and lecture. 

Of his time as an art student at Southern Miss, Weathersby says, “I was able to meet inspiring artists, as when painters like Hiram Williams and Thornton Willis visited Southern Miss, spoke to us students, and exhibited their work. In drawing, painting, and design classes, I learned substantial approaches to visual language—ways of thinking about how shapes, colors, textures, and the other elements can be organized to create expression. All those things are still with me when I’m in the studio.”

Weathersby has exhibited his work nationally and internationally, with notable solo shows at Minus Space (Brooklyn), Pierogi Gallery (New York), One River Gallery (Englewood, NJ), and NIAD Art Center Gallery (Richmond, CA). His work has been included in many group exhibitions as well. He has received numerous awards and residencies, including the Individual Artist Painting Fellowship by the Mid-Atlantic Arts Council/NJSCA (in 2008 and 2016). His work has been reviewed in The Washington Post, Hyperallergic, the Huffington Post, Brooklyn Magazine, the New American Paintings blog, Two Coats of Paint, Painter’s Bread, and elsewhere. 

Two Coats of Pain, said of his work, “Weathersby seems to be reminding the viewer that abstract paintings may seem formalist, or, to some viewers, simply decorative, but they are in fact part of a larger timeline rooted in history, politics, and philosophy. With wit and charm, he fuses his interests in Modern graphic design, art history, and ancient sculpture. Weathersby makes erudition seem easy.”

The artists featured in the National Juried Painting Exhibition include: Soulaf Abas, Sally Binard, Rachel Borgman, Sarah Cecil, Ruth Chase, Robyn Cooper, Christian Duran, Symmes Gardner, Sue Graef, Mary Hardy, Amber Hart, Gregory Hennen, Joseph Holsapple, Jee Hwang, John James, James Kane, Lindsay Keeling, Rosette Knipp, Jonathan Langfield, Ted Larson, Aaron Lubrick, John Markowitz, Andrew Martin, Matthew McHugh, Matthew Mogle, Dawn Inglis Montgomery, Ricardo Moody, Benjamin Murphy, Cathy Osman, Kate Hooray Osmond, Whitson Ramsey, Lorna Ritz, Martina Sciolino, David Smith, Jane Cornish, Smith, Jason Stout, Traci Stover, Jennifer Sugarman, Tim Ulrich, Jacqueline Valenzuela, Stephen Wozniak.

Of special note, this year’s show includes works by 5 Mississippi artists: Mary Hardy, James Kane, Ricardo Moody, Martina Sciolino, and Traci Stover.

The exhibition strives to showcase the work of a multitude of artists and artistic styles.

“We need to see what other people are doing and thinking,” said Weathersby. “In this show I’ve selected what I think are the strongest pieces across many different styles and subjects of painting. There are some common threads, but I was struck by how diverse the submitted work was. That in itself is a statement about culture at the present moment."

The closing reception for the exhibition will be held on November 2 at 7 p.m. in the Gallery of Art and Design. The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.