Cape Girardeau artist Blake Sanders chosen for juried exhibition in Arkansas

Blake Sanders of Cape Girardeau has been selected for juried art exhibition, a biennial exhibition showcasing artists in the mid-South.

Sanders is one of 35 artists selected for the 2023 Irene Rosenzweig Biennial Juried Exhibition, organized by The Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas (ASC).

Sanders' piece in the exhibit is called "Anywhere I Lay My Head (version 3)", a mixed media, screenprint on repurposed fabric, applique and reverse applique stitching, and salvaged plastic grocery sacks.

Sanders' work supports environmental accountability by emphasizing the bonds linking people to their neighbors and the natural world, he said in his artist's statement in a new release.

He earned a Master of Fine Arts with an emphasis in printmaking from Tulane University in New Orleans, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. He is an instructor at Southeast Missouri State University.

The Rosenzweig exhibition takes submissions from artists in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. Artwork in traditional and digital forms are accepted, including paintings, drawings, original prints, fiber art, ceramics, sculpture, photography, video and digital work according to a news release.

The biennial exhibition began with a gift from the Irene Rosenzweig Foundation to ASC in 1992. Born in 1903 in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Rosenzweig was a scholar and teacher who tutored President Franklin D. Roosevelt's family members during their time in the White House. She died in 1997.

The awards are Best in Show ($1,000), First Place ($500), Second Place ($200), and three Merit Awards ($100 each). Purchase awards are also available, allowing ASC to add works from the exhibition to its permanent collection.

ASC received 594 submissions by 315 artists, from which juror Rachel Trusty chose 35 works.

"I was incredibly impressed by the quality and breadth of all the work," Trusty said in the news release. "Choosing only 35 pieces from over 500 entries was difficult, and I want to celebrate everyone who entered. When selecting pieces for the show, I had two main criteria. First, that the work demonstrated excellence in technique, and second, that the work was innovative and pushed what we consider to be 'art' forward through media, theme, or both."

Trusty is an artist, educator and curator. She is a visiting assistant professor of women's and gender studies at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Trusty has a Ph.D. and a Master of Arts in women, gender and sexuality studies from the University of Kansas (2022 and 2020); a Master of Fine Arts from Lesley College in Boston (2011); and a Bachelor of Arts in sculpture and art education from the University of Central Arkansas in Conway (2006).

The exhibition opens Thursday, July 20, at ASC, 701 S. Main St. in Pine Bluff, with an awards reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Juror Rachel Trusty will present the awards at 6 p.m. The reception is free and open to the public. The exhibition will be on view in ASC's William H. Kennedy Jr. Gallery through Saturday, Oct. 14.

To see some of Sanders' artwork, visit his website, www.blakeanthonysanders.com, or follow him on Instagram at www.instagram.com/orangebarrel industries.