Exhibit Information
American Landscapes, 11th annual national juried exhibition
Circle Gallery, Maryland Federation of Art, Annapolis, MD
August 12 - September 10, 2011
Juror: Jack Rasmussen, Director & Curator of the American University Museum at the Katzen Art Center, Washington DC.
American Landscapes, is a national juried exhibition presented annually by the Maryland Federation of Art (MFA) and now in its 11th year. The MFA was founded in 1963 as a non-profit member organization of both artists and art patrons. The group established the Circle Gallery 45 years ago at 18 State Circle, Annapolis, MD. Located in a former general store that fronted Main Street, the Circle Gallery occupies the second floor storage area and is accessed from State Circle the road that rings the state capitol grounds. The original five-course American brick and timbers set at 17" and 19" are still visible within the gallery space, giving a rustic, antiqued feeling offset by a modern gallery presentation. Circle Gallery was recently voted Best Gallery in Annapolis 2011.
This year's juror is Jack Rasmuseen. A native of Seattle, he earned his BA in Art from Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA before moving to Washington, DC, and completing an MFA in Painting, MA in Arts Management, and MA and PhD in Anthropology at American University. Rasmussen worked in the Education Department of the National Gallery of Art before becoming the Assistant Director of the Washington Project for the Arts when it opened in 1975. He left this position to open the Jack Rasmussen Gallery, one of the first commercial galleries to move to downtown Washington DC, and then launched Rockville Arts Place, served for ten years as the Executive Director of Maryland Art Place in Baltimore, and three years as Executive Director of the di Rosa Preserve: Art & Nature, a contemporary art museum and natural habitat in Napa, California. Rasmussen is currently Director and Curator of the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center, Washington, DC, and President of the Board, Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums.
Text from American Landscapes exhibit prospectus and MFA website.