ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

Recognized as one of the premier craft exhibitions in the country, Materials: Hard + Soft International Contemporary Craft Competition and Exhibition, began in 1987 and was originally initiated by area artist Georgia Leach Gough. Now in its 34th year, the exhibition shows the top national and international artists as we celebrate the evolving field of contemporary craft and the remarkable creativity and innovation of artists who push the boundaries of their chosen media.  

This year’s call for artists drew over 1,100 submissions from 16 countries around the world and 45 states. Juror Pablo Barrera selected 77 works for exhibition at the Patterson-Appleton Arts Center including works from 28 states and 9 countries including Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Finland, Israel, South Korea, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the United States in varying media including metal, glass, wood, plastic, ceramic, fiber, and mixed media.

This exhibition is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, Texas Commission on the Arts and the City of Denton. The 34th annual Materials will be on view February 5 - May 8, 2021 at the Patterson-Appleton Arts Center.

2021 juror | pablo barrera, oklahoma contemporary arts center

Pablo Barrera is Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center’s inaugural Curatorial Fellow. He is committed to creating strategies for formal and informal art education, especially raising awareness of Indigenous visual culture. Barrera was selected among NXTHVN Art Space's first cohort and served as graduate advisor for Yale University Art Gallery’s first student-led Native American Art exhibition. He has written on global art impacted by colonialism, including a co-authored chapter on traditional Korean architecture design (Springer International) and a paper on Indigenous art produced for exchange between Colonial Spain and Japan (National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution). Barrera holds MAs from Yale University (History of Art) and Harvard University (Regional Studies: East Asia), a BA from the University of Pennsylvania (History of Art, minor in Anthropology), is a 2012 Paul & Daisy Soros Fellow, and a 2011 Fulbright Scholar (South Korea).

CLOSING RECEPTION

Join GDAC on April 30 from 6-8 PM for a come and go style closing reception for the 2021 Materials Hard + Soft Contemporary Craft Competition and Exhibition.

This event will be free and open to the public. This event is happening a week before the exhibition closing date (May 8).

There will be no set program for the evening, but gallery will be open to the public for extended hours and we are creating a small take away gift bag. Artists from the exhibition will be in attendance.

This will be a masked event and we will be regulating the number of people in the gallery at a time.

Questions about the event can be directed to exhibit@dentonarts.cm

Materials Hard + Soft Lesson Plans

Created by our education department check out four lesson plans inspired by artworks in our exhibition! Lessons can be used in classroom or home settings.

AUDIENCE FAVORITE VOTING

It’s the viewers turn to be the juror. Vote for your favorite piece from the 2021 Materials Hard + Soft exhibition. Winner will be announced at the end of the exhibition.

This can your favorite piece, because you like the color, the theme, the creativity, or if you want to follow our juror’s guidelines a piece that pushes the boundaries in the use of the materials the piece is made of in a creative and new way.

2021 Virtual opening reception

2021 Juror Award Winners

past materials: Hard + soft exhibitions

This exhibition is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, Texas Commission on the Arts and the City of Denton.

top of page: detail of True Colors Redux by Rachel Kalisky, glass, 2021 Materials Hard + Soft selection