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Arkansas Arts Center Announces Delta Exhibition Artists

The Arkansas Arts Center’s 61st Annual Delta Exhibition will feature work by 49 exceptional artists from the Mississippi Delta region. The exhibition will be on view May 3 through June 30, 2019.

Julie Darling, Obscurity Often Brings Safety, 2018, charcoal, graphite, ink, gouache, gesso on Stonehenge, 30 x 44 inches

Guest juror Kevin Cole selected 50 artworks by 49 artists, representing 10 states. The works were chosen from more than a thousand entries by 408 artists. Cole will also name a $2,500 Grand Award and two $750 Delta Awards. A $250 Contemporaries Delta Award will be selected by the Contemporaries, an auxiliary membership group of the Arkansas Arts Center.

Award winners will be announced at a member preview and reception at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 2 in the Children’s Theatre. Guests will then be invited to the Jeannette Edris Rockefeller and Townsend Wolfe Galleries to view the exhibition. Artists and Arkansas Arts Center members are invited to attend.

Joshua Asante, My Selves in Constant Dissonance, My Selves in Perfected Harmony (Blythe’s Illuminated Heart), 2018, archival pigment print, 48 x 36 x 1 inch

Showcasing artists living and working in Arkansas and its border states, the Annual Delta Exhibition presents a vision of contemporary art in the American South. Founded in 1958, the exhibition features work in an array of media to provide a snapshot of the Delta region now – while reflecting on the region’s strong traditions of craftsmanship and observation.

“Every year, the Delta Exhibition provides a glimpse at some of the most important work being created in this part of the country now,” said Brian Lang, Arkansas Arts Center Chief Curator and Windgate Foundation Curator of Contemporary Craft. “We’re thrilled to be able to present this noteworthy and dynamic selection of works at the Arts Center this summer.”

Kenneth Baskin, Mechanical Movements “Balance,” 2019, soda-fired stoneware, 15 x 19 x 6 inches

The 61st Annual Delta Exhibition will be the last major exhibition on view before the Arkansas Arts Center’s upcoming renovation and expansion project. Groundbreaking on the transformational renovation project is scheduled for this fall. Continuing its long and illustrious history, the Delta Exhibition will pop up at locations across Central Arkansas and beyond while the Arts Center’s MacArthur Park building is under construction.

Cole, the show’s juror, is an Atlanta-based artist best known for sculptural works, paintings, and intentional use of color. An Arkansas native, Cole’s work was featured in the 42nd Annual Delta Exhibition (1999) at the Arkansas Arts Center. His work can be found in notable public and private collections across the country, including the Dayton Art Institute, the High Museum of Art, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture. His work can also be found in the Arkansas Arts Center Foundation Collection; his mixed-media work Touch by Faith III is currently on view in POP! Out of the Vault. Cole has been a member of AfriCOBRA since 2003 and was inducted into the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame in 2018.

Kim Brecklein, Mikee’s Future, 2017, oil on canvas, 18 x 14 x .5 inches

Artists featured in the 61st Annual Delta Exhibition include:

  • John Ahlen of Little Rock, Ark.
  • Joshua Asante of Little Rock, Ark.
  • Carrie Ballinger Porter of Little Rock, Ark.
  • Loren Bartnicke of Auburn, N.Y.
  • Kenneth Baskin of Lake Charles, La.
  • Zachary Blair of Little Rock, Ark.
  • Kim Brecklein of Harrison, Ark.
  • Cynthia Buob of Columbus, Miss.
  • Debra Callahan of Jonesboro, Ark.
  • Olevia “Libby” Caston of Russellville, Ark.
  • Julie Darling of Memphis, Tenn.
  • Karen DeJarnette of Little Rock, Ark.
  • Virmarie DePoyster of North Little Rock, Ark.
  • Dylan Eakin of Seattle, Wash.
  • Ivy-Jade Edwards of Memphis, Tenn.
  • Scinthya Edwards of Helena, Ark.
  • DebiLynn Fendley of Arkadelphia, Ark.
  • Bryan Frazier of Little Rock, Ark.
  • Janet Goodyear of Eureka Springs, Ark.
  • John Green of Little Rock, Ark.
  • Alice Guffey Miller of Monticello, Ark.
  • Heather Christine Guenard of Cabot, Ark.
  • Pam-ela Harrelson of Dallas, Texas
  • Carol Hart of Fayetteville, Ark.
  • Amber Imrie of Sunnyvale, Calif.
  • Sherry Leedy of Kansas City, Mo.
  • Mark Lewis of Tulsa, Okla.
  • Jason McCann of Maumelle, Ark.
  • Keith Melton of North Little Rock, Ark.
  • Daniella Napolitano of Little Rock, Ark.
  • Dale Newkirk of Hammond, La.
  • Kevin O’Brien of Ocean Springs, Miss.
  • Mark Payne of Pine Bluff, Ark.
  • Rashawn Penister of Pine Bluff, Ark.
  • Yelena Petroukhina of Little Rock, Ark.
  • Jason Rankin of Little Rock, Ark.
  • Zachary Roach of Memphis, Tenn.
  • Jay Sage of Oklahoma City, Okla.
  • Ray Scott of Little Rock, Ark.
  • Sandra Sell of Little Rock, Ark.
  • Hunter Stamps of Lexington, Ky.
  • Laura Terry of West Fork, Ark.
  • Holly Tilley of Little Rock, Ark.
  • Mabry Turner of Little Rock, Ark.
  • Katelyn Vaughan of Monroe, La.
  • Michael Warrick of Little Rock, Ark.
  • Laura Welshans of Little Rock, Ark.
  • Nancy Wilson of Little Rock, Ark.
  • Emily Wood of Little Rock, Ark.
Sherry Leedy, Tilt, 2017, soft pastel on paper, 30 x 34 inches

The 61st Annual Delta Exhibition is sponsored (at this time) by Isabel and John Ed Anthony; Bank OZK; Philip R. Jonsson Foundation; Lisenne Rockefeller; Dianne and Bobby Tucker; Terri and Chuck Erwin; Friday, Eldredge & Clark, LLP; the AAC Contemporaries; Phyllis and Michael Barrier; Robert Chandler; Sandra and Bob Connor; East Harding Construction; Barbara Rogers Hoover; Don A. Tilton, The Capitol Group. The Grand Award is supported by The John William Linn Endowment Fund. The exhibition is supported by the Andre Simon Memorial Trust in memory of everyone who has died of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Reception support is provided by Catfish Farmers of America.