Stifel Fine Arts Center in Wheeling Hosting ‘Art and the Animal’ Exhibition
Emma Delk Trending
Tigers lounge across canvases and bears lunge out of bronze statues at the Stifel Fine Arts Center's "Art and the Animal" exhibition, with the Oglebay Institute chosen to host the premier exhibit of the Society of Animal Artists' 63rd Annual Exhibition.
The exhibition features the work of SAA members ranging in media, size and technique to portray mammals, birds, reptiles and aquatic life.
While the works in the exhibit are diverse in medium, from wooden sculptures to etchings done on scratchboard, Stifel Fine Arts Center Director Rick Morgan explained that most of the art displayed falls within a "super-realism type of artwork."
"Some people are attracted more when art leans into the abstract," said Morgan. "There's an attraction within the super-realism of the work here because it can portray that feeling of reality along with a little bit of looseness to it."
One of Morgan's favorite pieces, Gary J. Eisenberger's "Prey Mantling," exemplifies this superrealism. The wood carving depicts a barred owl sitting on a leave-covered ground, with Morgan noting he is fascinated by the detail within the piece, as "each little feather is carved to the point that it doesn't even look like wood anymore."
"It requires such focus to create such detail," added Morgan on the piece. "If you make one little mistake while carving, you have to restart all of it."
Apart from the variety in the mediums used in the exhibit, the artists featured in the exhibit come from a variety of places, all united under the SAA. Works originating from 33 different states and from countries as far away as Australia and the Netherlands will now spend the next three months at the Stifel Fine Art Centers.
More than 60 of these SAA artists will congregate in Wheeling on Oct. 13 for a reception where Oglebay Institute members can meet and mingle with SAA members. The event will culminate in an awards ceremony where artists will vote to recognize works outstanding in their creative excellence.
"The Stifel will be hosting some of the higher-ups of the guild and the more local artists at the artists reception," explained Morgan. "It is so incredible that we're going to host some of the most prestigious artists in the world here in Wheeling."
With a significant number of artists congregating in the city for the weekend, Morgan added that the Stifel "had to take advantage of the opportunity," coordinating a contributor to the exhibit, David Rankin, to host a workshop on shape sketching on Oct. 14.
After the exhibit closes on Oct. 28, the pieces will then travel to New Jersey, Kansas and then a final showing in Chicago. These other exhibits will be scaled-down versions featuring 60 of the 115 pieces displayed at the Stifel. As the premier version of the show, the Stifel will be the only location to display all the pieces included in the exhibition.
"I think because we did host one the smaller versions of the exhibit back in 2006, we were at least on the radar of the SAA, " said Morgan. "When they reached out to us to hold the exhibit this year, they presented it as wanting to finally host in the 'wild and wonderful' West Virginia."
Morgan said that because of the state's "claim to fame" of beautiful nature and wildlife, he thought the exhibit filled with "painted, drawn and sculpted" wild animals was "a really good fit" for the Stifel.
On the subject of the "wild and wonderful," Morgan added that the exhibit can reach a broad audience because "everyone has their favorite animal" that elicits "some type of positive feeling."
"This exhibit encompasses that feeling of going to the zoo to check out the animals," said Morgan. "I think it's even cooler to have the added layer of the artists' interpretations of the animal on all these different mediums."
Morgan added that this "attraction to the animals" that viewers of the exhibit feel is amplified by being able to see the "paint strokes reveal themselves" as one gets closer to different pieces.
"You can see the skill set that an artist has to make a nose look wet or show the saliva on a tongue," said Morgan. "The artists' ability to even make the fur look like you could reach out and touch it is amazing."
The combination of everyone having a "special place in their heart" for animals and being able to see the artistry that goes into their depictions by SAA members is what Morgan believes will draw the general public to the exhibit.
Morgan also noted that as the exhibit travels to other states after closing at the Stifel in October, it will reside in museums where people must pay to view the works. In contrast, the Stifel offers free access to the art due to a sponsorship from the United Way.
"For a lot of people, it can be intimidating to come into an art museum, but with the exhibit at the Stifel for free, it's a lot more inviting," said Morgan. "Someone might just come in to check it out and be wowed by the great animals here."
Morgan added that he was thrilled that the Stifel is now a hub for well-known and innovative artists across the globe by being chosen to display the exhibit.
"This is a New York-style exhibition filled with international artists that is free and open to the public right here in Wheeling," said Morgan. "I ultimately feel like the Stifel Fine Arts Center is a resource to our community when it comes to art, so I really hope people come and take advantage of all the stuff we're offering."