Jack Cowart, juror of the 38th annual All Florida Juried Exhibition at
the Boca Raton Museum of Art, called it a draw.
As head of department and curator of 20th century works at the National
Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., Cowart's opinion commands respect. Cowart
considered a record amount of entries (1,624) from a record number of
artists (629) to arrive at the 81 artists and 82 works on display for the
38th annual All Florida Juried Exhibition.
Museum director Roger Selby labeled Cowart's task "awesome,"
yet Cowart completed the job in two days. He decided to award six equal
$500 prizes rather than first, second and third places. Cowart noted in
his juror's statement that he detected "a particular, incontestable
strength in the photography section."
"The entries were often stunning and legitimately exciting,"
he wrote in the show's catalog. "Good strong paintings and works on
paper comprise another section of the exhibition, with some curious,
interesting sculpture."
Cowart discovered a myriad of styles, including realist, mystical,
abstract expressionist, late "pop," absurdist and surrealist
artists-, "all happily at work" as he put it, tongue-in-cheek.
"I think Cowart was sincerely impressed with the quality of
work," says new museum curator Tim Eaton. "He was not a bit
condescending in his assessments. I think he feels there is something
exciting going on in Florida."
Artists singled out for awards were Mario Bencorno of Miami, Christina
Hope of Jacksonville, Richard Lund of Fort Lauderdale, Janice Sanderson
of Deerfield Beach, James Swarthout of Fort Lauderdale and Howard
Williams Jr. of West Palm Beach.
