From a horse galloping through a racetrack to a still-life of a baseball glove, Balls Balls, Balls, the latest art exhibit at the Medford Arts Center, encompasses all areas and mediums in the world of sports.
The exhibit, along with two photography shows, can be viewed at the art center through Saturday, Aug. 18.
“There did not have to be a ball in the artwork,” said art exhibitions coordinator Tracey Femiano. “I was looking for something provocative that would draw people in.”
Visitors to the center love the humorous title, she said.
There are 40 works of art by 22 local artists in the sports show that opened on June 29.
While there was not an influx of submissions to the show, all of the works provided were right on target.
“All the artwork is sports-related,” she said, and there is a wide variety.
“Some of it was very high action,” she said, including bicycle races.
Others, she said, were more sentimental pieces with deep stories hidden in the works. Some pieces were created to honor professional sports players.
According to a release, “Their subjects range from youth soccer and baseball to bicycle and harness racing. Thoroughbreds thunder down the track, billiard balls race across a canvas, boats bob and swimmers cleave the water, all frozen in time by the talented artists.”
Sometimes, artwork can even be amusing.
Medford resident and oil painter Susan Barnes, who received honorable mention in the show for a painting of fishermen titled “Late Arrival,” once painted a group of hunters, Femiano explained. The hunters in the painting were on the lookout for birds to kill.
All the while, she said, a bird was daintily following them from behind.
“That painting, to her, had a lot of humor,” she said.
More families are frequenting the center to check out the exhibit, which is unique to the area and possibly the first exhibit with a sports focus in South Jersey, Femiano explained.
“We’ve gotten some visitors that have never come in before,” she said.
Shawn Murray, who owns Gallery Twenty-Two in the Rittenhouse area of Philadelphia, juried the show.
Cash prizes were presented to the winners.
“He was really great to have as juror,” said Femiano.
According to a bio sent to the center, “He is also the founder and president of the Bruce Murray Collection, LLC which represents the photographic archives of his grandfather, Bruce Murray, Sr. (1893–1969) and his father, Bruce Murray, Jr. (1919–1991). He has been publishing and marketing his family’s sports and historic photo artwork for over 20 years.”
All of the art, aside from the first-place winner, is available for purchase.
Prices range from $60 to $3,000.
“Most of it’s pretty reasonably priced,” said Femiano.
“The quality of the art is very high,” she added. “Overall, we attracted some good art.”
Balls, Balls, Balls can be seen in three galleries on the first floor with pieces varying from oil paintings to photography to watercolors. There are also three-dimensional pieces such as a small sculpture and a piece of charcoal.
A photography exhibit that stemmed from a contest at the Woodford Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge in Medford is available for viewing in the back room of the center.
Approximately 200 children participated and the winning photographs are in the Gazebo Room.
“We’re featuring four photographers on our second floor,” said Femiano.
The photographers are Ralph Berglund, Alan Reinhart, Bonnie Rovere and Elaine Walsh.
“Berglund is a resident at Medford Leas and was recently awarded a national award,” said Femiano. “All are Burlington County residents and members of the South Jersey Camera Club that meets monthly at Medford Leas.”
The art center has been in operation for four years and displays eight exhibits each year, according to a release.
Classes are also offered, plus musical concerts and children’s activities.
Admission is free for all three exhibits and donations are always welcome.
The center, located at 18 North Main St., Medford, is open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and by appointment for any request from the community.
Learn more by calling (609) 654–6485 or visit www.ArtsinMedford.org.
