Juror: Ruth Reese

Ruth Reese explores the richness of porcelain, black stoneware and red earthenware in her sculptural work. Published in “500 Plates”, “500 Raku” and “Mourning: A Buddhist Ritual Comes to America,” Reese explores themes of mythology, death and the fluid nature of identity. Exhibiting nationally, her work has been a part of Visions in Clay, Red Heat and NCECA. Her work has also been shown at the Evansville Museum in IN, the Racine Art Museum in WI and the San Angelo Museum of Fine Art in TX. Reese holds an MFA from Washington University and BA in English from Loyola University. Most recently, Reese has completed an Artist in Residence at Craft Alliance St. Louis, and can be found directing the REESE Gallery in St. Louis, MO. She was awarded the Regional Arts Commission Artists Fellowship Grant in 2016 and most recently exhibited this summer at the New Harmony Gallery of Contemporary Art in Indiana.

In her work, animal forms merge with human figures; flora grafts to fauna. From these fantastic beings, psychological questions concerning the nature of human identity naturally emerge. She draws inspiration from the Messein tradition and the Baroque period with its sense of theatre and exaggerated elegance while inviting diversity into her cast of characters. Fantastic and creaturely, her sculptures live on the margin of dreams and reach between worlds. Ruth Reese’s work is often housed in small chambers, or cabinets of curiosity, that suggest the pursuit and collection of objects bearing an inner knowledge.

Opening Night

photos courtesy of Karthika Krishna

Participating Schools

Affton High School

Bishop DuBourg High School

Central Visual & Performing Arts High School

Clayton High School

Cor Jesu Academy

Desmet High School

Hazelwood High School

John BurroughsHigh School

Ladue High School

Lafayette High School

Liberty High School_

Lindbergh High School

Mehville High School

MICDS

Nerinx High School

North St. Francois County R-1 High School

Oakville High School

Parkway Central High School

Parkway North High School

Parkway South High School

Parkway West High School

Pattonville High School

Principia High School

Rockwood Summit High School

Salem High School

St. Joseph’s Academy

Timberland High School

Villa Duchesne High School

Westminster Christian Academy

Whitfield High School

Windsor High School

About the Exhibition

Emerson Young Artists' Showcase is a juried, all-media exhibition of artwork created by high school students between 15 and 19 years old residing within 150 miles of the St. Louis Artists' Guild. The annual Young Artists' Showcase has supported artistically inclined students for over 60 years. We aim to promote a career in the visual arts while providing an opportunity to exhibit in a professional gallery. 

Exhibition Dates: March 8 to March 31, 2018

Opening Reception: Thursday, March 8, 2018, 5pm–8pm

Gallery Talk: Wednesday, March 21 at 7pm 

April 3, 2018: Begin artwork pickup. Exhibited artwork cannot be removed from the gallery until April 3, 2018.

All works must be retrieved from STLAG’s galleries by May 30, 2018, or else the work will become the property of the St. Louis Artists’ Guild.

Awards 

Emerson Scholarship    $500
Duha Shreiteh (Parkway North), "Atonement," 2017

Frani Weinstock Scholarship   $500
Aubrey Schmit (Salem High School), "A Really Sad Borzoi Who Is Probably Dead", 2017

Nanda Silva Prize  $250
Celia Friedrich (Pattonville High School), "Caged," 2017

Cynthia Berg Prize
Betsy Johnson (Ladue High School), "Contradistinction," 2017

Connie Hume Memorial Award   $100
Abby Burtin (Nerinx High School), "Self," 2017

Clay and Eugene Jordan Prize   $100
Jessica Daniels (Rockwood Summit High School), "Eclipse," 2017

William and Elaine Small Award   $100
Mitch LaMar (Ladue High School), "Untitled," 2017

Artmart $100 Gift Card
Betsy Benzinger (Villa Duchesne), "Apothecary Christmas"

Artmart $50 Gift Certificate
Irmak Karasinir (John Burroughs), "Resting Self-Portrait," 2017

Jim Firestone Award
Makeda Wells (Hazelwood High School), "Self-Portrait," 2017

Joanne Stremsterfer Prize    $50
Scilar Gibbs (Salem High School),"Imagine," 2018

Honorable Mention   $25
Cory Gamblin (Salem High School), "Descending Staircase," 2018

Sarah Hemphill (Mehlville High School), "Know," 2017

Sunny Lu (Ladue High School), "Spain 3PM," 2017

STLAG and Emerson Young Artists' Showcase on STL Live