The winners of the Naperville (Illinois) Art League’s 14th annual public art competition were announced at a reception held at the Naperville Fine Art Center and Gallery on Sunday, March 19, 2017.

The exhibit, entitled “#SillySerious-ness,” caught the attention of regional artists of all ages who submitted work reflective of the theme. Fifty entries, encompassing original work in a variety of media, were displayed and considered for the awards.

Artist Pamela Carron was selected to judge this competition.  She had the difficult task of selecting winners out of the 50 entries.  Prizes were awarded to sixteen individual winners:

Best of Show:

Patricia Melekus “Rape of Europa” Acrylic

Awards of Excellence:

Jeannail Carter Too Many to Choose From” Colored Pencil, Pen, Ink

Scott Harding  “Pumpkin Top” Oil on Linen

Gary Schirmer “The Ripley Effect” Oil

Honorable Mentions:

Cynthia Boudreau“Bubbling Up” Fiber

Marissa Burch “Treehouse” Mixed

Kathleen Geisinger “Winter at Geneva Lake” Photography

Tatiana Guarino “Tatiana Guarino” Oil

Beth Hobby “Mask: Autoportrait” Assemblage

Valerie Lorimer “Her Life Was a Circus” Mixed

Judy MacLeod “The Sisters” Mixed Media

Kevin Pranaitis “Am I Brave, Daddy” Photography

Sally Sharp “Seriously?” Oil & Cold Wax

Judy Tucker “Picasso in Piecing” (pictured above) Fabric

Marita Valdizan “Life as it Happens” Mixed Media Wire Crochet

Charles Williams, Jr. “Maze”  Acrylic

“I was very impressed with the quality of artwork we received for our ‘#SillySeriousness’ competition. Even more amazing is the depth of intimacy that the pieces exude,” said Debbie Venezia, Executive Director of the Naperville Art League.

“#SillySeriousness” runs through Friday, March 30, 2017.