Finalists for awards in the 53rd annual “Art of the State” juried exhibition at The State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg include six artists from Westmoreland County and nine from Allegheny.

Because the museum remains closed due to the covid-19 pandemic, winners will be announced on Facebook and Twitter at 2 p.m. Sept. 13 via a prerecorded awards ceremony.

Pittsburgh artist Alan Byrne was nominated for his scale model of the iconic Isaly’s restaurant storefront.

“The setting is more than just a building — it is an environment where people live and leave their mark,” said Byrne, who teaches graphic design at the Community College of Allegheny County. “From the posters in the windows to the trash in the alleyway, we see the evidence of human activity.

“While I have on occasion shown my miniatures, this is the first I have gotten in a major juried exhibition. And while I have won awards for my art, it has always been in the field of painting. Too often the field of miniatures elicits a ‘how cute,’ but it doesn’t really qualify as fine art,” he said. “I am happy this work is viewed as a small sculpture rather than a toy (which it definitely is not).”

Westmoreland County finalists include spouses Paul and Mandy Sirofchuck, owners of Main Exhibit Gallery in Ligonier. Paul is a woodworker and fine furniture-maker, while Mandy works in stained glass.

“This years entry entitled ‘Waves’ is a cabinet of drawers and door and somewhat of a new direction for my work,” Paul said. “The thick angled, dovetailed walnut ‘case’ is completely shaped/carved through the door and drawers, creating the illusion of waves in the water — a bit of a challenge for me — so I was thrilled to be included among such fine work.”

“My stained glass panel, ‘Beguiled,’ incorporates traditional elements, such as glass, lead and solder, with kiln-fired enamels and tracing paint, similar to techniques seen in cathedral windows,” Mandy said. “While I have worked in the stained glass medium for 35 years, kiln-fired glass painting is a fairly new direction for me, and I am pleased to be recognized for my work.”

Kevin O’Toole of Greensburg, a creator of minimal wood sculptures, is showing his “Diptych 440 and 441,” wood and paint pieces with the same shape. O’Toole describes his work as “very simple geometrical shapes and different variations, with one shape suggesting another.”

Stuart Thompson of Whitney is recognized for an oil-on-canvas “study in implied motion.” His “Bandelier Trail Stairway, or, Homage to Duchamp,” he said, “is meant to make oblique reference to Duchamp’s ‘Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2.’ The immediate subject matter of the painting is, per the title, a trail found in Bandelier National Monument, N.M., part of the trail hugging the ancient cliff dwellings of the area’s first inhabitants.”

360-degree view

Concurrent to the awards announcement, a 360-degree virtual exhibit will launch, allowing viewers to “walk through” the 6,000-square-foot gallery and see works featured in this year’s exhibit. “Hot spots” will contain details of each artwork and videos of larger installations, according to a release.

The exhibit includes 108 works of art from 109 artists from 29 counties. Finalists were selected from 1,901 entries from 680 artists. Additional Southwestern Pennsylvania nominees include:

• Westmoreland County: Sheila Cuellar-Shaffer and Patty Kennedy-Zafred

• Allegheny County: Laura Domenic, Catherine Drabkin, Sandra Moore, Marian Phillips, Jennifer Rempel, Sue Reno, Silvija Singh and Benjamin Thomas

• Indiana County: Sean Derry

• Somerset County: Margaret Black

“With most exhibitions, and certainly with an exhibition on a state-wide scale, much exceptional art never makes it into the final selection of the jurors,” Thompson said. “With this exhibition, I dare say one and likely two more shows of great quality could have been selected from the pieces left unselected.”

“I am glad the state recognizes how important art is and gives artists in our state the opportunity to be seen in our wonderful State Museum. The number and quality of the many entries they receive every year is a testament of how much amazing talent there is in the state of Pennsylvania,” Paul Sirofchuck said.

Exhibition selection jurors were Lauren Frances Adams, a painter and installation artist who teaches painting at Maryland Institute College of Art; Clara Lieu, an exhibiting artist and adjunct professor at the Rhode Island School of Design; and Ron Tarver, a Pulitzer Prize-nominated photographer and visiting assistant professor of studio art at Swarthmore College.

Awards juror was Susan E. Cahan an art historian, curator and dean and professor of art history at Temple University Tyler School of Art and Architecture.

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