Through Friday, January 9, UpMarket Gallery presents Art from the Heart, a juried exhibition for which gallery owner Heather Davis put out a call to artists in Southern Appalachia, which includes NC, SC, TN, KY, VA and GA. “We believe that much attention is given to artists living in the major art centers—NYC, LA, Miami, etc.—and our artists are just as good, very plentiful and deserving of some limelight,” Davis says.
Submissions for the exhibition included figurative work, portraits, abstract mixed media, collage and ceramics. “This show is really good,” says Davis. “We had so much good artwork that our jurors had a hard time selecting from all the beautiful work that was submitted.”
Sharon McAllister and Carolyn Graham Edlund, both highly experienced jurors with decades of experience in the Florida art market, selected winners. First-, second- and third-place winners and their works, respectively, were Cindi Berry (The Sentinels), Richard Christian Nelson (Sam Waymon) and Clay Sayre (Impasse).
Clay Sayre submitted multiple works for the show, with all having in common the faces they portray and, subsequently, the emotions on those faces. “Each has clues to a story that invites the viewer to discern,” Sayre says. “For instance, Hope uses a homeless man, yet is a positive, even inspirational, moment.”…