Reviews/Juror Statements
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Juror, Jennifer Frankel, artist and owner of Digi-Labs
Award: First Prize, 2014 New Member Show, Newton Art Association “Coursing: Reflects deep and floating tones of rich reds and gold. The masterful use of washes and layering of pigment gives a believable and delicious depth to the surface. The viewer is left the freedom to imagine the context, with shapes both organic and constructed.” |
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Juror, Mary M. Tinti, PhD., Curator, Fitchburg Art Museum
Award: Gene Faucher Award-First Prize, for “Fuchsia and Holly,” 2015 Annual Awards Show, Newton Art Association “I am a colossal fan of the color fuchsia. And to see it here, in so many different manifestations – dripped, dragged, scraped, swirled, and splattered – was something wonderful. The combination of the pinks and darker greens is not one that I’m used to seeing, and I found myself returning to this watercolor again and again. There is a fabulous dynamism to the whole composition, as though the artist is channeling the Italian Futurists. And to me, it read as both chaotic and calming all at the same time.” |
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Juror, Michael Biales, MFA, Faculty at Kaji Aso Studio and deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum
Award, Honorable Mention for “Primary 1,2,3,” Small Works Show, Kaji Aso Studio Institute for the Arts, 2016 “A graphic – almost sci-fi – design that draws us into its distant space through the vortex of its whirling shapes.” |
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Juror, William F. Pope, Executive Director, Zullo Gallery
Award: Second Prize for “Mythic Mood,“ Annual Awards Show, Newton Art Association, 2016 “A captivating, mysterious work full of intrigue and questions – seemingly on an organic level with layers of color and complex line and shapes rising from a red raw emotional level to the peaceful blue surface and beyond - trying nobly and succeeding in a certain way to illustrate the mythical.” |
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Juror, Kathleen Conover, American Watercolor Society, Signature Member - Dolphin Fellow
Award: 2nd Prize for “Dream Catcher,” 2017 New England Regional Juried Exhibition, New England Watercolor Society “Dream Catcher is a marvelously imaginative painting. It has wonderful energy and sense of motion that engages the viewer from across the room, then holds one’s interest until, six inches away, we are being entertained by fine lines and details. This artist’s individuality and expressiveness is refreshing.” |
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Read the Art Scope Online Review of the Synaesthesia at Art Scope Online:artscopemagazine.com/2018/07/synaesthesia-at-beacon-gallery/
Earth Currents, below |
Juror, Debbie Disston, Director of The McIninch Gallery, Southern New Hampshire University
Award for “Release,” 2018 Concord Art Association’s Members Juried 1 (MJ1) “James has created the challenge of seeking composition with the wash of color. The lines and images are so subtle and yet so inviting. The was of color implies the form of landscape and yet does not define it. The exploration of what exists here is engaging and fun.” |
Juror, John Kasbohm, owner, Atelier 564
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Juror: Boriana Kancheva, Director of Visual Arts, Mosesian Center for the Arts Honorable Mention in Newton Art Association's 2023 From The Heart Open Juried Exhibit Ark: Bright pinks and reds merge to create a free-flowing shape. It is a vibrant and captivating piece. The use of line to define areas within the larger form is very successful. |
Juror: Christine McCarthy, CEO, Provincetown Art Association and Museum
Honorable Mention in Newton Art Association's 2021 THINK BIG Juried Exhibit at New Art Corridor @ Trio Parallel: "This painting stood out – it has a strong composition and demonstrates a solid use of watercolor. The limited palette holds the painting together while creating a nice rhythm." 
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Juror: Jessica Roscio, Ph.D., Director and Curator,
Danforth Art Museum at Framingham State University Honorable Mention in Newton Art Association's 2023 James King Bonnar Show at the Morse Institute Into the Night Sky: So much comes together in this work—the palette, the detail, the mix of materials, and the intimate size which allows for close looking. |
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Juror: Marjorie Kaye, Gallery Director, Galatea Fine Art, Boston
Honorable Mention in Newton Art Association's 2023 Spring Show at the Allen Center for the Arts Hula: The artist magnetizes an idea into formation. The abstraction of form comes together to create the recognizable. 
Juror: Marjorie Kaye
Honorable Mention in South Shore Art Center's exhibit, Out of Darkness. Untwining: Shapes and fluidity appear out of a miasma in search for the known stemming from the unknown. By working within the ocean of chance put down as a base color, the artist envisions the solid form within. This is an act of personal revelation brought on by the act of energetic painting. |
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