Exposure, exposure, exposure —if that is in fact the key to success for aspiring artists, then 106 Houston area talents could be on their way to stardom thanks to Lawndale Art Center's annual open-call, juried exhibition The Big Show.
Close to 1,000 works by 382 artists living within 100 miles of the city were submitted for consideration, the works juried by Erin Elder, visual arts director of the Center for Contemporary Arts in Santa Fe, N.M. When the curtain went up on The Big Show preview Thursday night, 115 works were on display and more than 200 Lawndale members, participating artists and show sponsors turned out to have a look.
For Friday night's official opening, as many as 1,000 were expected, any artist's dream of getting his or her work before such a crowd. Winners of the $3,000 in cash awards were announced at that mega party. Since the show's inception in 1984, emerging artists selected have received not only the coveted exposure but many have also garnered gallery representation.
The preview party featured libations from Saint Arnold Brewing Co. and Deep Eddy Vodka and party bites from Whole Foods and sounds from A Fistful of Soul DJs.
Among those getting the first look at the selected works were Lawndale director Christine West, Bill Arning, Diana Hudson and Lee Kaplan, Brian James and Catherine Callaway, Jenny and Mark Johnson, Richard E. Fluhr and Rudy Hernandez.
Robin Sher, left, and Cary Reeder among those previewing Lawndale's The Big Show.
