Huntsville, Ala – The Huntsville Museum of Art (HMA) is pleased to present The Red Clay Survey: 2014 Exhibition of Contemporary Southern Art, which opens to the public Sunday, August 17. The Red Clay Survey is a recurring juried exhibition open to established and emerging artists in 11 Southern states. In its twelfth presentation, the exhibit will be on view through October 26, 2014.

The artists juried into The Red Clay Survey are selected through a comprehensive two-fold process, involving an initial stage of jurying by digital image and a second stage of reviewing actual works. Out of a record 1,500 entries the museum received, the juror chose 90 works by 72 artists from 11 states.

The competition will feature more than $8,000 in cash awards, including three Museum Purchase Awards, a Juror’s Choice Award, one Alabama Artist Award, seven Merit Awards, and a People’s Choice Award determined by museum visitors who may vote in the gallery during the run of the show.

This year’s juror was painter and educator Susanna Coffey of New York City. Best known for her intimately sized self-portraits addressing androgyny and the gendered image, Coffey’s work also encompasses themes of war, still life and plein air landscape. Coffey received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Connecticut in 1977 and a Master of Fine Arts from the Yale School of Art in 1982. A fellowship recipient from the National Endowment for the Arts and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial
Foundation, she has exhibited in solo and group shows throughout the United States and Europe. Coffey is the F.H. Sellers Professor in Painting at The School of The Art Institute in Chicago, where she has taught since 1982. She lives in New York and Chicago.

“The Red Clay Survey provides Museum visitors with a rare opportunity to become familiar with what’s currently happening on the contemporary art scene across the South,” Peter J. Baldaia, HMA’s Director of Curatorial Affairs, said. “As in years past, the exhibition includes a wide range of fine art and craft media, in styles ranging from traditional to avant-garde.”

Initiated in 1988, the series “takes the pulse” of current art and intends to recognize and encourage excellence, while providing a permanent record of the development of regional art through the publication of a comprehensive exhibition catalogue.

The museum will celebrate the opening of the exhibition with a Preview Party on Saturday, August 16, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The award winners will be announced at 7 p.m. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet many of the Red Clay artists, hear live jazz music by The Keith Taylor Quintet featuring Ingrid Felts and Ken Watters, and enjoy a wine and hors d’oeuvre reception. The preview event is FREE to Museum members and participating Red Clay artists. Nonmembers will be admitted for $25 per person. Guests are asked to call 256-535-4350 ext. 208 to RSVP, or non-members may purchase tickets online at www.hsvmuseum.org.

Major support for the exhibition was provided by The Kuehlthau Family Foundation. Additional support was provided by The Alabama State Council on the Arts, Altherr Howard Design (Betty Altherr Howard), The Combined Federal Campaign, and The Women’s Guild of the Huntsville Museum of Art.  Red Clay award sponsors include: Alice Chang; Susan and Robert Kuehlthau; Jean and Jerre Penney; Progress Bank; Kelly and Randy Schrimsher; Anne and Ed Uher; and the Huntsville Muse
um of Art Docents.

The Museum is closed Mondays and some major holidays. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. with extended hours Thursdays until 8 p.m. and Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults; $8 for military, students, teachers, and seniors with a valid ID; $7 per person for groups of 10 or more; and $5 for children ages 6−11. Admission for museum members and
children under 6 is free. For more information, visit www.hsvmuseum.org or call 256-535-4350.

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2014 Red Clay Artists [listed as Artist Name (Artist’s City)]

ALABAMA
Douglas Baulos (Birmingham)
Pamela Wesley Copeland (Dadeville)
Michelle McKnight Davis (Florence)
Rahonda Everett (Brownsboro)
Carole Fôret (Huntsville)
Marianne Hall (Danville)
Stacey Holloway (Birmingham)
Jim Jobe (Huntsville)
Bryce Lafferty (Jacksonville)
J. Leko (Huntsville)
John Jahni Moore (Huntsville)
David Nuttall (Huntsville)
Jodi Nuttall (Huntsville)
Conor O’Brien (Huntsville)
Pamela Plummer (Huntsville)
Randy Shoults (Montgomery)
Setareh Tajbakhsh (Huntsville)
Nita Terrell (Alabaster)
India Truman (Huntsville)
Ursula Vann (Huntsville)
Helen Vaughn (Huntsville)
Kathryn Lansing Vaughn (Harvest)
Pamela Venz (Birmingham)
Linda Walden (Huntsville)
Lauren Woods (Mobile)

ARKANSAS
Joe Morzuch (Bono)
Jon Shannon Rogers (Little Rock)

FLORIDA
Donne Bitner (Orlando)
Dominic DiPaolo (Orlando)
Jason John (Jacksonville)
John Markowitz (Cantonment)
Bethany Taylor (Gainesville)

GEORGIA
Stephanie Bryan (Atlanta)
John Cleaveland, Jr. (Farmington)
Nick Gruenberg (Atlanta)
Bill Harbin (Rome)
Michael Holsomback (Fort Oglethorpe)
Tim Hunter (Atlanta)
Judy Morris Lampert (Atlanta)
LeeAnn Mitchell (Watkinsville)
Christopher Nitsche (Savannah)
Kenneth Procter (Milledgeville)
Alexi Torres (Atlanta)

KENTUCKY
Linda Erzinger (Louisville)
David Iacovazzi-Pau (Louisville)
Leslie Nichols (Bowling Green)
Michael Nichols (Bowling Green)

LOUISIANA
Dale Newkirk (Covington)
Chelsea Ramirez (Baton Rouge)

MISSISSIPPI
Alexander Bostic (Mississippi State)
Neil Callander (Mississippi State)
Lou Haney (Oxford)
Philip R. Jackson (Oxford)
John Lawler (Hattiesburg)
Thomas McBroom (Starkville)
Marcus Michels (Hattiesburg)

NORTH CAROLINA
Corey Gillespie (Elon)
Nicholas Raynolds (Asheville)
John Sours (Asheville)
Joshua White (Boone)

SOUTH CAROLINA
Sandra Carr (West Columbia)

TENNESSEE
José Betancourt (Winchester)
Roger Clayton (Nashville)
Robert Durham (Nashville)
Diane Fox (Knoxville)
Mira Gerard (Johnson City)
Joshua Dudley Greer (Johnson City)
Bill Long (Morristown)
Beauvais Lyons (Knoxville)
Zack Underwood (Memphis)

VIRGINIA
Anne Chesnut (Charlottesville)
Kristin Skees (Hampton)