NEW SEMANTICS GALLERY

GALLERY SPONSORS:    |  Hunt and Donna Bonan

EXHIBIT SPONSORS: Bill and Sylvia Howard  |

ABOUT THE EXHIBIT:

The 2023 Biennial presents the best in contemporary art from southern Illinois. The exhibition provides a barometer of how artists in the region are critically and aesthetically responding to their worlds.

ABOUT THE JUDGE:

St. Louis artist Dominic Finocchio’s award-winning paintings and drawings have been presented in curated, invitational, and juried exhibits throughout the U.S. for more than 30 years.

His long experience as a visual artist guides his decisions in both art making and to answering the question – what is a work of art? His deep interest in art history as it has evolved into the twenty-first century has shaped a point of view that maintains openness and enjoys being initially confounded and eventually engaged. He looks for a balance that allows aesthetics and personal statement to thrive together and believes that technical skill simply needs to be able to create that balance.

Finocchio was asked recently, what advice would you offer to artists? His response: “Stop concerning yourself with the approval of others and try to make art that you don’t see anyone else making. Realize that your personal vision has most of what you need to make good work and because of the importance of subjectivity there hasn’t been a rule book since the nineteenth century so there is no right or wrong.”