1st Place - Silk Painter International

Silk Painter International Biennial Conference

Doshi awarded 1st Place
Transcendent Silk… Beyond the Ordinary showcased 82 silk paintings by 52 national and international artists. The exhibition was created in conjunction with Silk Painter International’s (SPIN) biennial conference held at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in October 2018. Featuring works made by SPIN members, the exhibit featured a dynamic group of silk paintings, sculptures and installations that explore a variety of themes and subjects.
“SPIN is an international organization of silk artists, painters, practitioners and educators. Our goal is to establish silk painting as a recognized art form by encouraging and promoting the collecting, displaying and production of silk art at the highest level.” – SPIN.

Juror Statement

“When viewing this exceptional exhibit I had certain criteria in mind: Mastery of initial ink handling, technical finishing skills, and integration of the painting techniques with other elements to make a final, cohesive realized piece.”

“Overall, the initial ink handling though all manners of application both realistic and abstract in the exhibit were masterful. My next concerns were how the work technically looked on the wall. Did it lay flat? Were additional seaming or attachments precisely done? Points were either added or subtracted by this.”

“Finally, I wanted to find dynamic, well-crafted work that integrated other media and interesting presentation materials flawless as part of the whole. Jurors look at exhibits always in different ways, and with certain subjectivities. Mine is a focus on the individual characteristics of the media itself. When I see a photo printed on canvas and stretched like a painting, for instance, I have less interest in it than if it had not intended to mimic another media. I want to see the media itself be used as experimentally and successfully as possible by being itself. I want fiber to be fiber.”

“There were many beautiful pieces matted and framed or presented more as technical print making or oil/ mixed media painting, but I wanted to see the behavior of pure fiber retain it’s non-confined power. There were three artists who did this with exceptional results, so instead of giving awards for individual pieces, I want these to be artist awards for their total contribution to the exhibit.”

“First Place goes to Doshi Smith. Smith’s work showed a complete understanding of the organic nature of the material and integrated a beautiful muted color palette with perfectly crafted wooden presentation and hanging materials. The presence of elegantly realized scale model pieces along with large wall pieces gave an interesting look into the breadth of the artist’s output.”


~ Denise Stewart- Sanabria
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