Bringing Communities Together through Art

Selected works from the 7th annual FOCUS 2012 Photography Competition can be seen in our Jean Bulicek Galleria through the month of May.

FOCUS is part of an exciting collaboration between several communities, but the host galleries, Solon Center for the Arts and Beck Center gallery give the photography a place to shine. Over 200 amateur photographers (adults and students) submitted work for this juried competition, with 75 entries chosen by three distinguished judges.

FOCUS is supported by the generosity of KeyBank, which has selected six KeyBank Community Choice Awards, two of which will be on display at the KeyBank locations in Lakewood and Westlake.

You're invited to join us for the Awards Presentation from 6-7:30 pm on May 31 at Beck Center for the Arts.

Rotary Club Music, Speech, and Visual Arts Contest showcases area's most talented high school students

In collaboration with the Lakewood/Rocky River Rotary Club, the Beck Center for the Arts hosted the Rotary Club’s 67^th annual Music, Speech and Visual Arts Contest. This longstanding contest welcomes talented area high school students who have demonstrated excellence in the areas of music, speech and the visual arts. Participants are students from the five Lakewood and Rocky River high schools including Lakewood High School, Lutheran High School West, Magnificat High School, Rocky River High School, and St. Edward High School.

For the visual arts competition, a jury of artists selected outstanding works of art meeting the contest requirements. From this gallery of art judges chose winners and prizes were awarded for the most outstanding works of art in the contest including a 1^st Prize $500, 2^nd Prize $300, 3^rd Prize $100, and three Honorable Mention Prizes of $50 each. Contest winners in all categories were recognized at an awards ceremony and reception on Tuesday, March 27 at the Beck Center.

2012 AWARD RECIPIENTS

MUSIC

1^st Place: Jiale Peng (violin), Lakewood High School, Violin Concerto by Sibelius

2^nd Place: Abby Boland (soprano), Lakewood High School, Se tu m’ami, se sospri by Pergolesi

3^rd Place: Jacob Short (trumpet), Lakewood High School, Hummel Trumpet Concerto, Movement 1 by J. Hummel

SPEECH

1^st Place: Connor Hooper, Rocky River High School

2^nd Place: Steve Saed, Lakewood High School

3^rd Place: Alaina Valkoff, Rocky River High School

VISUAL ARTS

1^st Place: Bram Myers, Lakewood High School, Forest in Charcoal (charcoal)

2^nd Place: Montague Cockrell, Lakewood High School, Cleveland Born (acrylics)

3^rd Place: Mike Benesh, St. Edward High School, State Champ (clay/colored pencil)

Honorable Mentions:

Michael Todaro, Lakewood High School, Stun E. Cuffs (ink)

Hannah Frimel, Lakewood High School, Under the Sea (batik)

Blakes Trumbel, St. Edward High School, Croc (clay)

Selected entries from the visual arts contest will be on display in the Rotary Student Art Show in the Jean Bulicek Galleria now through April 29. This exhibit is free and open to the public during regular gallery hours. Call Beck Center Customer Service at 216.521.2540, ext. 10.

The artwork below is representative of selected entries from the five participating high schools.

For more information about the Lakewood/Rocky River Rotary, visit www.lakewoodrockyriverrotary.org.

Beck Center for the Arts presents Material Matters, an exhibit of unique contemporary fiber art in the Jean Bulicek Galleria February 17 through March 19. This exhibit features the work of six Northern Ohio artists who each use different types of materials and processes in their distinctly personal work.

Material Matters includes the art of Liz Burgess, Si-Yun Chang, Linda Grashoff, Sue Copeland Jones, Ruta Marino, and Kathleen Van Meter. These women who reside across Northern Ohio, from Beachwood to Wakeman, have been meeting monthly for several years to provide each other with artistic criticism and support. While clearly divergent in their choice of materials, processes and expression, they all share a common passion and commitment to the creative process.

Meet these amazing artists at an Opening Reception on Friday, February 17 from 6 to 8 p.m. and be the first to see this inspiring exhibition.

For more information about the artists and a calendar of other upcoming art exhibits at the Beck Center for the Arts, visit beckcenter.org.

Enter FOCUS 2012 photography competition and become a part of an exciting collaboration with Beck Center for the Arts and Solon Center for the Arts. Only amateur photographers (adults and students) are eligible. This is a juried competition with awards in each category, including "Best in Show"!

Categories are:

• People/Portraits
• Architecture/Cityscape
• Nature/Landscape
• Animals
• Botanical
• Macro

Entry Deadline: Saturday, March 17 by 2:00 p.m.

Host Gallery Exhibitions

• Beck Center: May 4 - May 31
• Solon Center for the Arts: April 16 - May 25

Click here for complete entry details and important dates.

A Photography Competition Bringing Communities Together Through Art, presented by

The New Year starts off with a fantastic show of drawings and etchings from Beck staff alumnus, Justin Wisniewski. Justin taught at the Beck Center for five years and left to attend graduate school Edinboro, Scotland to study painting.

We are thrilled to have him back as the first artist in our gallery year. Justin’s show “Perceptual Romanticism” will be on display in the Jean Bulicek Galleria  through February 12, 2012. As always, all Beck Center exhibits are free and open to the public. Click here for a complete list of 2012 gallery shows.

Beck Center for the Arts presents the final exhibition for 2011, the Holiday Art Show, from Thursday, November 17 through January 1, 2012. Stop by and view these wonderful works by five local artists: Ann Caywood Brown (pastels and photo transfers), Bonnie Gordon (pottery), Joseph Gregg (photography), Mardel Sanzotta (painting), and Debra Sue Solecki (drawing).

Local original art makes the perfect holiday gift!

The Beck Center is please to present an exhibition by internationally acclaimed surrealist Natasha Turovsky through Sunday, November 13. Her collection can be seen throughout the Jean Bulicek Galleria, Beck Café and Skylight Walk.

If you've been to the Beck Center recently then you are familiar with Turovsky's work. In September, art dealer Paul Sykes and his wife Lorraine arranged for the installation of "A Night at the Opera", a 34’ x 17’ canvas art mural replica of her original work, to the west side of Beck Center’s Creative Arts Building. The mural "Beck Stage" was moved to front of the main building - making it what Sykes believes to be the largest outdoor public art canvases in the state.

You're invited to attend the closing reception on Sunday, November 13 from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m.

As always, art exhibits at Beck Center are free and open to the public.

Mural photo courtesy of Lakewood Observer

Shop for original, beautiful and unique gifts at the Beck the Halls Boutique on December 10, 2011 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the main lobby of the Beck Center.

Featuring extraordinary original artwork by talented artists and artisans, you will find an array of creative gifts including jewelry, pottery, prints, drawings, photography, and watercolors. Get started early on your holiday shopping! Buy a unique, one-of-a-kind gift for that special someone on your list - and support the arts in our community!

Beck Center's landscape changed on Sunday, September 18 when art dealer Paul Sykes and his wife Lorraine arranged for the installation of  a 34’ x 17’ canvas art mural by internationally acclaimed artist, Natasha Turovsky. The mural, entitled "A Night at the Opera" was installed on the  west side of Beck Center’s Creative Arts Building.

The new mural replaced  Turovsky’s “Beck Stage”, which was moved to the east side façade of Beck Center’s main building, making the combined murals, what Sykes believes to be, the largest outdoor public art canvases in the state. “This is a wonderful opportunity to showcase both murals along with Beck’s new state-of-the-art marquee, providing even more visibility with high-level art form,” said Sykes.

Thomas Mulready of Cool Cleveland spoke to Sykes about the artist, the Beck Center, and what might possibly be the largest outdoor public art canvases in the state. Watch interview here.

Sykes and Beck Center will host a Meet the Artist reception on Thursday, October 13 from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. where guests will get a preview of Turovsky’s exhibit that will run through November 13. The collection will be on display in the Jean Bulicek Galleria, Beck Café, Skylight Walk, and Virginia Q. Foley Gallery at the Beck Center.

Photo courtesy of Jim O'Bryan, Lakewood Observer

Now showing in the Jean Bulicek Gallery is the annual Beck Center Faculty Art Show. Come and view the wonderful art created by the Beck Center’s visual art staff. It will amaze, entertain you and give you a peek at the creative skills of our teachers - and perhaps inspire you to take one of our classes.

The Faculty Art Show runs through October 19.