A Voice from the Eastern Door
A Voice from the Eastern Door
Local Carver Wins Top Awards
Shawn Fillion of Desjardins Financial Cornwall Branch presenting the "Best in Show" award to Master Carver Ben Benedict of Akwesasne.
Ben Benedict won the jury selected "Best in Show" prize for his sculpture "Defying Gravity."
Cline House Gallery and Benedict were thrilled this exquisite work has found a home locally with two very appreciative collectors – Craig and Heather.
The Cline House Gallery was packed – despite the heavy snow fall that evening. Photos courtesy Cline House Gallery.
Photo of Ben Benedict's "Smart Birds II," earning the "People's Choice" prize winner of the Cline House First Annual Juried Art Show.
It took weeks to prepare for the opening night of Cline House Gallery – First Annual Juried Art Exhibition. Over one hundred artists submitted work for consideration. The pieces selected showcased an 'eclectic mix of works by artists of all levels from across the Cornwall – Akwesasne area, with some artists traveling from Kingston, Montreal, and Ottawa.
The evening opening at the Cline House Gallery brought together a large crowd despite the huge downfall of snow that evening.
Desjardins Bank generously sponsored the "Best in Show" prize which was presented to Ben Benedict of Akwesasne, who submitted a black walnut sculpture "Defying Gravity". Defying Gravity also won Best of Show at the Adirondack Museum's Mohawk and Abenaki Art Market in the summer of 2022 and The Ganondagan Juried Art Show 2022.
On Friday March 3, Cline House Gallery announced the "People's Choice" prize winner of the annual juried art show – Ben Benedict and his carving, "Smart Birds II."
"This is the first time that we have hosted a juried show at the Cline House Gallery, and we were overwhelmed by the number of artists who submitted work for consideration. We know this is in part thanks to the generous sponsorship by Desjardins Financial of the Best in Show Prize ($1000.00) and we are grateful for their support of the visual arts in our community," Emily MacLeod, Visual Arts Coordinator told Cornwall Seaway News.
Three Juror's Choice prizes were also awarded at the reception, to Frank Mulvey of Montreal, Francois Desjardins of Alexandria, and Roger Mattiuz of Ingleside. Jurors included artists Laurie Sponagle, Leslie Corbay and Sean George.
"The number of artists and the distance they traveled to deliver work for this show is an indication of the limited number of opportunities for artists to enter work in non-commercial galleries in this region," added MacLeod, "A juried show offers exposure and accreditation to artists who are looking to develop their artist CV (resume)."
The 2023 Annual Juried Show closed on February 25th.
Benedict stated, "The Cline House Juried Art Show was awesome. It was well planned out so well. They brought in writers from the Cornwall and Area Writers Society to recite their interpretations of artist's work. I was so impressed with this art show – everything about it.
For my new next show – I'll bring these carving and I'm working on a new carving for the World Carving Championship this coming April."
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