Contemporary Arts Center Exhibitions

Current Exhibition

21st Annual Juried Show
Congratulations AJS Award Winners!
(click winning artsist names to view their piece)

Best of Show: Jennifer Kleven, “Beard 427" Sponsored by Jim Stanford and Lynn Morris

Bemis Award, for CAC member of exceptional talent: Lance Smith, “When I’m With You" Sponsored by Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts

Brett Wesley Award, 2nd Prize:
Thomas Bumblauskas, “More Than a Horn" Sponsored by the Brett Wesley Gallery

3rd Prize: Philip Denker, “Triple Tube Stack” Sponsored by Trifecta Gallery and Kathy & George Garlock

Honorable mentions: Victoria Hogan, “Untitled"
Sean Schumacher, “Everything One Might Want to Know (in no particular Order)”
Josue Fred, “Miami Vice"
Wes Fanelli, “Robert and Jeffrey"
Marti Bein, “Voltaire in the Desert- Will you come to my party?”
Sponsored by Desert Art Supplies and Framing Studio, Inc.

Sponsors: Also thanks to Steven Baskin, and Wirtz Beverage Nevada

Current exhibition calendar

click to download pdf

Thank you to the 190 artists who submitted work to the Contemporary Arts Center's 21st Annual Juried show! This year we received over 500 entries of high artistic merit, and juror Jeff Gauntt selected 41 pieces for final review at the gallery next week. Please join us for the opening reception on March 31st from 6:00-9:00 p.m.
Awards Ceremony and Juror's Talk at 7:00 p.m.
Preview Thursday 6:00-9:00p.m.
First Friday 6:00-10:00pm

Congratulations to the following artists: Linda Alterwitz , Marti Bein, James Bousema, Jim Briare, Ron Buffington, Thomas Bumblauskas, Diane Bush, Charles Caldemeyer, Jorge Catoni, H.D. Clark, James Stanley Daugherty, Philip Denker, Paula Dimino, Wes Fanelli, Barry Ferich, Shereene Fogenay, Josue Fred, Benjamin Gardner, Richard Gilles, Troy Gillet, Max Heller, James Henninger, Victoria Hogan, Jen Kleven, Will Kurtz, Julian LaBounty, Jay Lasnik, Cyrus Lemmon, Nichole Maury, Joni Max, Fabí Mello, Tim Ortiz, Jordon Payne, David Rothman, Sean Schumacher, Marlene Siu, Lance Smith, Mikel Patrik, Jessica Thomas and Jayson Warnock

Jean-René Leblanc "Body Rituals"

About the work:
The Body Rituals series is a personal exploration of the concept of new male subjectivity, the fluidity and discontinuity among sex - gender - identity, and the phantasmic processes of constructing the body. The strategic conflation of lace, a "male" body and the absence of any specific genitalia is an attempt to destabilize any visual reading of gender assumptions constructed on a strict historical binary framework supported by the medical gaze. The absence of the head acts to liberate the gaze from the dualistic world of desire. Such mobility of gender offers a possibility to the viewer to transgress prescriptive notions of desire.
Artistic statement:
As a visual artist engaged with cultural issues, critical theory and digital media, I often use a variety of media to best express the concepts with which I am working. My creative research emphasizes an Interdisciplinary Digital Artistic approach using photographic media as a point of departure for critical thought and problem solving. My work explores the relationship between digital technology and culture with an emphasis on technologies of interfacing, issues of play, masculinity and the body.
Bio:
Jean-René Leblanc is the Head of the Art Department and professor of digital arts at the University of Calgary in Canada. He is co-founder of the Sensorium Lab a cross-disciplinary research group focusing on research that develops systems of interaction that encourage kinesthetic perception and interpretation.
He was born in Montreal in 1967, and attended Concordia University, which he left in 1993 with a Bachelor in Studio Arts. In 1996, he graduated from the University of Windsor Ontario with a Masters of Fine Art in Multimedia and Photography and has completed a PhD in study and practice of art from the Université du Québec à Montréal in 2006. Mr. Leblanc’s Art works has been exhibited in Canada, the United States of America and Europe.

Previous Exhibitions:

Tomorrow People
An exhibition showcasing work by four emerging artists. Within the past decade, Leah Craig, Catherine Cruise, Justin Favela, and Thomas Willis were nurtured by the Las Vegas art scene while developing their art practices at UNLV.
February 4th - March 19th

YOUR FUTURE STARTS HERE!
CAC at the Arts Factory
Date: 3 December 2009, Thursday 6:00 PM
Curator: Jim Stanford
Opening Reception December 3rd 2009 6:00pm
Exhibition Dates: December 3rd 2009 - January 28th 2010