ArtPrize Venue Cathedral Square: Worth the Trip

Cathedral Square, located at the corner of Sheldon Boulevard and Division Avenue, just a few blocks south of the city center. This ArtPrize venue and voter registration station encompasses a wide variety of paintings, sculptures, stained glass, photography, and more. A spacious and well lit venue with plenty of room to gaze at artwork both near and far away, you are able to take your time and truly enjoy the experience, something that more crowded venues don't always allow for. 

Walk in to the main conference room on the second floor, and you will notice a very large oil painting of a tree that seems to radiate light from within. The piece, entitled "Awakening" by artist Tony Hendrick, will encapsulate you with its glowing colors and fine textural appeal.  A second large oil painting titled "Emergence" by artist Mary Reusch follows along with a similar theme of displaying nature's brilliance. Get up close and personal with this painting and notice the delicate illustrative quality of her work. Switching gears to some of the 3D work at this location, you might be drawn to a small piece titled "Black, White, and Red Triptych" by artist Sherry Erskine. This beautifully crafted raku sculpture of three birds; each sitting respectively on their own kind of ambiguous natural object has a very simple yet enticing quality to it. Erskine used different colored glazes on the piece that seem to melt down from the birds and flow naturally into a subtle transition of colors while creating a uniquely textured pottery surface. Read her artist statement about how each bird represents a different aspect of human values; feeling, courage, and belonging, and you will appreciate this piece even more. A second sculpture worth mentioning is a piece by artist Jill Rowan, titled "Conform." This mostly black, painted, ceramic sculpture, which hangs on a wall, will catch your attention with its "non-conforming" shape, emphasized by a red and white striped design on one portion of it. Another plus? This piece, as well as many others, is for sale.

Finally, a pen and ink piece created by artist Pat Ducat Bogus titled "Encautum Motus" will surely draw your attention. Made up of 12 "16 x "20 illustration boards, this black and white piece looks a bit like something you might see under a microscope. Up close, you will notice that all the shapes are made up of bubbly circles ranging in size from minuscule to pretty tiny, with a few bigger "bubbles" interspersed here and there. It's a piece you could easily sit in front of for some time following the different pathways of circles as they spill from canvas to canvas. Do yourself a favor and walk (or drive, plenty of parking) to this fun and convenient ArtPrize venue. You'll be sure to cast a few votes while you are there.