Texas National exhibition showing through Blueberry Festival weekend

Nevada photographer wins first place in 25th annual show

Time is running out on opportunities to view this year’s Texas National exhibition at The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House.

Jennifer Garza-Cuen, an artist from Reno, Nevada, was selected as having the winning entry in the 2019 Texas National Competition and Exhibition at Stephen F. Austin State University. An SFA art graduate student was also among the top honorees.

Michelle White, senior curator at the Menil Collection in Houston, served as juror for the 25th annual Texas National, and she chose Garza-Cuen’s photograph “Untitled Ranch Hand” for the top honor in this year’s prestigious competition that brought in 50 pieces of art from across the nation.

White awarded second place to Alejandro Macias of Brownsville for his piece, “Ongoing.” Third place went to Sarah Jentsch, SFA graduate student from Etoile, for “Meadowlark in Spring.” Jentsch is a past honoree of the SFA College of Fine Arts Dean’s Circle, receiving the Ed and Gwen Cole Dean’s Award in Art in 2017.

Honorable mentions were awarded to Sarah Fisher of Houston; Carmen Schafer of Rochester, New York; and Fidalis Buehler of Mapleton, Utah.

The School of Art’s annual juried competition and exhibition attracts entrants from across the United States, providing artists an opportunity to have their work juried by highly regarded artists and critics. Texas National features an assortment of art, including photography, painting, sculpture and mixed media.

The winners and all entries in the 25th annual Texas National can be viewed through Sunday, June 9, in The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House, SFA’s historic downtown art gallery located at 329 E. Main St. Gallery hours are 12:30 to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, and 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday.

For more information, call (936) 468-1131.