Page 6 - SAALM 92 Catalog First Draft

LEAH HARDY, M.F.A.
JUROR’S STATEMENT

It was a delight and honor to observe the many facets of Texas
through the lens of visual artists. Selecting a diverse and robust
sample from the many entries was not a small task; objectivity was
key in weighing each piece according to its aesthetic, techniques and
conceptual intent. It is my hope that the viewer will appreciate the
plethora of diverse artistic voices manifested in layered encaustics,
assembled, fabricated or cast sculpture, collage, photographs, cut
paper, watercolor, oil paint, and many other media.

Curiosity and inquiry are illustrated through pieces that are introspective, outwardly expressive or evoke emotion--
sometimes sharing a narrative. Several pieces invite us directly to contemplate social issues such as PTSD and abuse,
history, gender identity or global crises such as climate change. Other works celebrate and acknowledge long-standing
traditions of documenting everyday life through portraiture, landscape and still-life. All art provides a vehicle to transport
us away from, or deeper into, the human experience. We cannot experience joy without the shadow of pain. Artists have
the gift to remind us of this, of jostling our memory, making us laugh and cry, and prodding us to consider injustices, and
perhaps even to act.

The intent of this adjudication was to represent many personal viewpoints and approaches to art-making, be it serious or
whimsical; non-objective, abstract or representational; surreal or poetic. I would be remiss to not acknowledge the artists’
works, included or not in the exhibition, that emotionally responded to the Covid-19 pandemic as well as other current
global issues. Throughout this process, I was reminded of the importance of solidarity in the human race. Our efforts to
survive and even thrive as a global race is ever-important.

I express gratitude and offer congratulations to all of the artists who have shared their art and imbue our world with
creativity and visual poetry. I offer a very warm and special thanks to all of the members of the San Antonio Art League who
tirelessly work to thoughtfully organize the exhibition each year. It was truly a pleasure to work with them in the adjudication
process. Enjoy and celebrate the 92nd Annual SAALM Exhibition.

ABOUT THE JUROR

Leah Hardy has taught at the University of Syoming since 2001 and established the Metalsmithing Program in
2009. Hardy’s intimately scaled mixed media sculptural works have been exhibited nationally and internationally,
acknowledged with numerous awards and featured in books and articles. A passion for travel and researching
metalsmithing techniques in other cultures has resulted in many international residencies and co-teaching a
UW Art course every other summer in India 2005-2015. After an artist residency at Gray Street Workshop in
Adelaide, South Australia in 2012, Hardy has returned several times to exhibit and travel down under. In 2017
she was a Visiting Artist at the School of Art, Architecture and Design at the University of South Australia for three
months and coordinated an art project that involved six artists (US, Australia, New Zealand) who embarked on a
camel trek in the Flinders Ranges of South Australia. Art manifesting from the experience was highlighted in the
traveling exhibition, In Camels’ Footsteps, in Adelaide and Sydney during July-September 2018.