PRESS RELEASE Jerry Bloomer, 318-865-4201 ext. 118
For immediate release Email: jb@rwnaf.org
Paint The Parks National Touring Show
Comes to the R.W. Norton Art Gallery
The R.W. Norton Art Gallery in Shreveport has announced it will be displaying the Paint the Parks 100, a national touring exhibition of contemporary representational paintings depicting America’s National Parks. The exhibit, which opens Tuesday, March 17, is organized by PaintAmerica, a national, non-profit organization to support and promote the visual arts. As one of the leading traveling exhibitions in America, it features the works of many of the country’s most recognized contemporary artists, as well as several talented emerging artists. The exhibit is created annually from a national juried artists’ competition, and includes the 100 highest scoring pieces from nearly a thousand submissions.
The exhibit at the Norton Art Gallery will include the Grand Prize Purchase Award painting by France Tremblay depicting a view of Death Valley National Park. Other major juror award winners included in the exhibit are Christopher Groves', Santee Evening Light set in the South Carolina National Heritage Corridor and Robert Highsmith's, Morning at Canyon de Chelly. In addition, winners were chosen to represent each of the three national park regions. Those included in the exhibit are Robert Gunn's Full Moon Ascending from the Chiricahua National Park, and Howard R. Hanson's Forest Floor representing Minnesota's Voyageurs National Park. The Paint The Parks exhibit features many different mediums and illustrates a variety of regional painting styles. The Shreveport showing represents the final stop on this year’s national tour.
PaintAmerica was established to support and promote the arts, with a goal of providing scholarship opportunities for young artists, while providing a premiere, national showcase for the country’s most notable artists, as well as upcoming emerging artists. "We are delighted to have the support of the R.W. Norton Art Gallery," stated Rod Seel, Executive Director of PaintAmerica. "We couldn’t ask for a better supporting partner and exhibit venue than the Norton Art Gallery, and we’re proud to bring this terrific exhibit to Shreveport."
This marks the fourth showing of paintings honoring America's national parks at the Norton. Of the last showing in 2004, JoAnne Harris, arts writer for The Times, wrote "(it) provides a dazzling mid-winter experience for lovers of traditional, representational art. …..the exhibit is well worth seeing more than once, but please, please do not miss seeing it at least once."
Paint the Parks will continue at the Norton through May 3. Hours are 10:00 am to 5 pm Tuesday through Friday and 1-5 pm weekends. Admission is free and wheelchairs are available without charge.
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