In conjunction with the opening of the Expressions West 2017 exhibition on April 14, juror Katherine Chang Liu announced her selection of prize winners in this 13 state painting competition. The First Place Prize was awarded to Victoria Tierney of Bandon, Oregon, for her Mixed media painting, Mother Japan. The Second Place was presented to Geoffrey McCormack, Eugene, Oregon for his Acrylic / Watercolor, Learning to Walk in My Own Shadow #2. Mei-Ying Dell’Aquila of Santa Clara, California, received the Third Place award for her Oil, Knowledge from History. The three top prize awards are $1,000 for first place, $750 for second place and $250 for third place. Honorable Mention and Entry of Merit awards were also announced during the opening ceremony. The four Honorable Mention recipients are: Marjorie (Midge) Black of Ashland, Oregon for Night Phantom (Crater Lake Series), Woodblock; Margaret Godfrey of Blue River, Oregon for Teen Dreams, Mixed media; Judith Gebhard Smith of Olympia, Washington for The Waiting Game, Pastel; and Pat Snyder of Coos Bay, Oregon for Hot Stop, Acrylic / Mixed media. Entry of Merit awards went to: David Castleberry of Coos Bay, Oregon; Sher Rosenberg of Florence, Oregon; Frank Gaffney of Mountlake Terrace, Washington; Judith R. Ginsburg of Ashland, Oregon; and Karen Kramer of Oakland, California. Expressions West is now in its 21st year and remains one of the premier exhibitions held annually at Coos Art Museum. This year’s exhibition runs from April 14 through July 1, 2017. Juror, Katherine Chang Liu, an artist of considerable international influence, has been a museum co-curator, lecturer and teacher. With her extensive background she has been the invited juror for over 80 national, regional and statewide exhibitions and competitions from coast to coast. She has exhibited in over 45 solo exhibitions including shows in Rome, Italy, Lyon, France and Copenhagen, Denmark. Among many awards, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Watercolor USA Honor Society. Her works are found in over 1100 public, private and corporate collections. Katherine Chang Liu’s own paintings are also on display at the Museum in the Mabel Hansen Gallery. Her two-person exhibition Palimpsest with artist Eileen Senner runs consecutively with Expressions West.
