The 29th annual Juried Members Exhibition at the Newport Art Museum is surprisingly good, considering its scale. With nearly 100 artists, mostly from Rhode Island, several themes quickly emerge: birds, for instance. There’s Kay Ritter’s poker-playing parrot and Rex Lebeau’s owl, suspended mid-flight. There’s also Whitney Overocker’s clever pencil drawing, featuring a whole lineup of grouchy-looking fowl. Other highlights include Joan Hall’s homemade paper algae bloom (pictured), a prize winner which scored the artist a solo show at the museum next year. I also liked “The Social Register,” Robert Kieronski’s whimsical coin-operated fortune teller. (My fortune: “Duncan Fyffe would like to see you outside. He wants to make you a chair.”)
21
October
2018