I think that you will be excited to meet our 2020 jurists, Jeff Nye, Pat Dumas-Hudecki and Sarah Burtscher.
Jeff Nye is a Newmarket-based artist, writer, teacher and curator. Jeff has a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree with Distinction from Concordia University in Montreal (1998) and a Master of Fine Arts Degree from the University of Regina (2007). His paintings and multimedia installations have been exhibited in public galleries across the country. He has curated exhibitions for the Mackenzie Art Gallery, Dunlop Art Gallery, and Last Mountain Lake Cultural Centre. He has also instructed studio and art history classes at First Nations University of Canada, University of Regina and Georgian College. Jeff has received several distinctions and awards for his work, including grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Saskatchewan Arts Board, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
http://www.livestudio.ca/
Pat Dumas-Hudecki is an Ontario artist who has been in many solo and group exhibitions, and has won many awards. She sends this statement:
Through my different painting series I want to chronicle how the everyday objects around us transform and convey their own unique narratives. My realistic acrylic paintings pay homage to the sweet disorder and chaos that surrounds us; they are an integral part of our living spaces-indoors and out.
When I paint the visual chaos of my interior spaces I capture the domestic wilderness of activity and play that is too often tidied up and civilized before it can be appreciated for its beauty and meaning.
When I paint urban and rural utility poles I show how they have developed unique personalities as they alter through time and purpose.
I enjoy creating art that makes people take a second look at their everyday surroundings and transforms their perceptions of it.
http://www.dumas-hudecki.com/
Sarah Burtscher is the Gallery Director at Stephen Bulger Gallery, Toronto’s leading commercial photography gallery for historical and contemporary work from Canadian and international artists. Sarah has curated exhibitions including Open Call 2019 for the Exposure Festival in Calgary; MYTORONTO, an exhibition through which participants affected by homelessness connect with their community; and SNAP!, an annual photographic fundraiser in support of programs and services provided by the Aids Committee of Toronto. She has also been on several exhibition juries including THE FENCE 2018 and RMG Exposed in 2017 and 2018.
Sarah holds a BFA in Photography Studies from Ryerson University’s Image Arts program.