36th Rosen Sculpture Competition finalists
The Rosen Sculpture Competition and Exhibition is a national juried competition presented annually by An Appalachian Summer Festival and the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts. Since its establishment by Martin and Doris Rosen in 1987, the Rosen Competition continues a tradition of showcasing contemporary American sculpture in outdoor settings across the beautiful campus of Appalachian State University.
The competition, in its 36th year, has become firmly established as a cultural treasure and a significant point of pride for Appalachian State University and our entire region. The competition has garnered national praise for the free access to the “best of the best” in contemporary sculpture it offers for countless residents and visitors across North Carolina and beyond.
The Rosen Family proudly continues the legacy of Martin and Doris by generously supporting this important program dedicated to sharing the power and joy of public art, creating a fascinating glimpse into the world of contemporary sculpture, and building new audiences for the visual arts.
This program is made possible by the generous support of the Martin & Doris Rosen Giving Fund/Debbie Rosen Davidson and David Rosen and the Charles & Nancy Rosenblatt Foundation.
For information about the 37th Rosen Sculpture Competition schedule and entry requirements, visit: 37th Rosen Outdoor Sculpture Competition and Exhibition
Each year, ten sculptures are selected for installation in outdoor, public settings across the university campus. Cash prizes are awarded for first, second, and third place and all artists whose works are installed will receive an honorarium. The Rosen Award winners are announced at the Annual Sculpture Walk with the Juror in July, a highlight of the summer festival season.
For more information or to take a self-guided tour, download: 36th Rosen Sculpture Map
RELATED EVENTS
Rosen Sculpture Walk with the Juror July 9, 2022 10am – noon
First Place Award
Andrew Light, Divergent
Third Place Award
Kevin Curry, Lost and Found
This sculpture has been removed for the remainder of the 36th Rosen Exhibition
Second Place Award
Susan Moffatt, Sinuosity II
Honorable Mention
Kevin Eichner, Mei Amour
First Place Rosen Award: Andrew Light, Divergent, 2020, Steel, Lexington, KY Boone, NC -- During a recent weekend in July, art enthusiasts attended the 36th Annual Rosen Sculpture Walk with the Juror. This year’s juror, renowned sculptor Elizabeth Brim from...
Susan Moffatt
Chapel Hill, NC
2020
36th Rosen Second Place Award
Jackie Braitman
Takoma Park, MD
2021
Wayne Vaughn
Graham, NC
2022
David Boyajian
New Fairfield, CT
2022
Shawn Morin
Bowling Green, OH
2022
Matthew Newman
Damascus, VA
2022
This sculpture has been removed for the remainder of the 36th Rosen Exhibition
Kevin Eichner
Moncure, NC
2020
Honorable Mention
Kevin Curry
Tallahassee, FL
2019
This sculpture has been removed for the remainder of the 36th Rosen Exhibition
36th Rosen Third Place Award
Andrew Light
Lexington, KY
2014
First Place Award
This year’s competition juror is Elizabeth Brim. Brim is a sculptor who uses traditional and innovative blacksmithing techniques and is best known for feminine imagery in her ironwork. A native of Columbus, Georgia, she graduated with an MFA in printmaking before studying and working with a variety of materials at the Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina. Quite unexpectedly, she fell in love with iron. With a unique juxtaposition of the feminine and the ferrous, Brim transforms the frilly dresses, fairy tales, and gender expectations of her childhood into remarkable works of social commentary. Brim is also a teacher and lives in western North Carolina.
Mary Anne Redding is a visual arts curator and writer and serves as the curator of the Turchin Center. She has more than forty years’ experience working as a curator, archivist, librarian, educator, and arts administrator. She holds a B.A. in English Literature from Ohio University, an M.A. in Arts Administration from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, an M.L.S. from the University of Illinois, Champaign Urbana, as well as an advanced certificate in Museum Studies from Arizona State University. She has written and published numerous essays on photography and contemporary art. Before taking her most recent post as the Curator at the Turchin Center, Redding was the Curator at the Sioux City Art Center in Sioux City, Iowa, for 13 months. Redding previously served for nearly 6 years as the Curator at the Turchin Center. Past positions include working as the Curator of the Marion Center for Photographic Arts and the Chair of the Photography Department at Santa Fe University of Art & Design, and as the Curator of Photography for the Palace of the Governors/New Mexico History Museum.
This nationally recognized juried competition, established in 1987, has long been credited with enhancing the cultural landscape of the High Country region, while serving as a highlight and point of pride for the university’s summer arts festival, An Appalachian Summer Festival.
Reflecting the vision and generosity of Martin and Doris Rosen, an extraordinary couple whose lives were shaped by the spirit of public service and philanthropy, the competition brings a remarkable array of contemporary sculpture to our campus and community.
Each year, ten sculptures are selected for exhibition, and are situated in outdoor, public settings across the university campus. A cash prize is awarded to the artist whose work is chosen as each year’s Rosen Award winner, which is announced by the juror at the popular Annual Sculpture Walk, a highlight of every summer festival season.
Over the years, the exhibition program has earned an international reputation for showcasing the finest in contemporary sculpture, and has become a source of inspiration for thousands of visitors, area residents, and members of the university community who enjoy access to a diverse and ever-changing selection of outdoor sculpture each season.
Vision, generosity, and a pursuit of excellence are some of the many qualities that characterized the lives of Martin and Doris Rosen. From their years devoted to building a successful business, to their lives after retirement, revolving around family, philanthropy, and a commitment to the arts, this exceptional couple left an indelible mark on the communities in which they lived and worked.
Thanks to the continuing generosity of the Rosen Family, Martin and Doris’s legacy of support for quality visual arts programming has been continued by their children, and enables this beloved exhibition program to continue to develop and flourish. In July 1997, the Rosens donated Hephaestus, a large commissioned sculpture by Bruce White, to Appalachian State’s Permanent Collection, and it adorns the Rivers Street frontage area of the Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts to this day.
On the occasion of the Rosens’ 50th wedding anniversary in October 1999, their children established the Martin and Doris Rosen Scholarship to assist rising junior or senior art majors at Appalachian State. Tireless supporters of the arts, the Rosen Family has given so much of themselves over the years to ensure that the arts remain a strong foundation of campus and community life in the High Country. We wish to extend to them our deepest appreciation.
Flickr – Installation images
Please address all inquires to:
36th Rosen Outdoor Sculpture Competition & Exhibition
Turchin Center for the Visual Arts
PO Box 32139
423 West King Street
Boone, NC 28608
Mary Anne Redding, Curator: reddingm@appstate.edu
