SEMO REGIONAL ART EXHIBITION OPENING

A three-dimensional sculpture based on traditional Mexican art, and works made of vinyl are among the more unusual entries in the Southeast Missouri Regional Juried Art Exhibition opening Friday at Gallery 100.

"We have many, many fine artists in this region and there was an excellent selection," Juror Tracey Boswell says.

Boswell said a lot of art had to be squeezed into a little space at the gallery, forcing some entries out. "Each one had at least one unique quality," she said.

About 45 of the some 90 entries will be displayed.

"I was looking for works that had a special quality," she said. "Some artistic inspiration. Something that had meaning."

Boswell also based her selections on good use of media and mastery of technique.

Artists living within 75 miles of Cape Girardeau are featured in the exhibition, which shows the best work submitted by artists from Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Perryville, Caruthersville, Dexter, Chaffee, Ste. Genevieve and Poplar Bluff.

The work includes clay sculpture and inlaid wood as well as watercolors, acrylics and oils.

The clay Mexican sculpture, which Boswell called "a celebration of life," is unusual for this area, she said. "I hadn't seen anything of that tradition at the gallery before."

The vinyl works employ the material used in car striping, Boswell said. "The end result looked like painting but had texture."

Boswell, director of the Margaret Harwell Art Museum in Poplar Bluff, has selected the work to be exhibited and will award cash and ribbons.

First, second and third-place prizes will be awarded, along with four honorable mentions and a special juror's award to a piece that shows a lot of potential.

A native of Des Moines, Iowa, she received her master's degree in art history from the University of Kansas. She has been director of the Harwell museum for almost two years.

The opening reception and awards ceremony will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday at the gallery, 1707 Mt. Auburn road.

Regular gallery hours are 1 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The gallery is sponsored by the Southeast Missouri Council on the Arts.