From a press release

DUBUQUE – Opening celebration for the outdoor sculpture display for the 2010-2011 Art on the River Exhibition will begin at 5 p.m. Thursday, July 15, at the Grand River Center in Dubuque.

In its fifth year, the temporary public art exhibit drew 100 entries from 18 states and one foreign country. New this year will be the presentation of a $1,000 cash award for the Best of Show, chosen by three jurists.

The celebration features a brief program, the chance to visit with the artists, a walking tour of the exhibit, hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar. The public is invited to attend.

Despite the international range of entrants this year, five of the 10 selected artists are from Iowa, a testament to the quality of art professions working within the state. All sculptures were chosen for this highly competitive exhibit through a blind judging process.

The sculptures are:

“A Biker’s Day of Fishing” by Jason Messier of Iowa City, blends the world of art with fishing, motorcycles and the abundant dragonfly.

“Leaf Stack” by Nicholas Legeros of Minneapolis, Minn., is a playful metaphor for children playing in piles of leaves, raking them together to form chairs.

“Public Prayer Booth” by Dylan Mortimer of Kansas City, Mo., adds plays a spiritual element to the traditional public phone booth.

“Oneota Flow” by Skip Willits of Camanche, is constructed from steel and willow sticks harvested from the river’s shore after beavers have cleaned and sculpted them.

“Daredevil” by Robert Craig of Des Moines is a large fabricated steel work, painted bright red, patterned on industrial objects.

“Dapple I and Dapple II” by Victoria Reed of Cedar Falls, represents two grazing horses, both delicate and massive at the same time.

“Balance” by Kristy Summers of Carbondale, Ill., is a cast iron, wood and steel work that welcomes viewers to examine their own inner balance.

“The Long Toss” by John Anderson-Bricker of Dubuque is a playful, pop-art nod to the communal summer activity of Bocce ball and other lawn games.

“The White Rabbit” by Marisa Dipaola of Vernon, Vt., is an illuminated sculpture of found objects that brings to life the stories of Lewis Carroll.

“I Fly, You Fly” by Lisa Marie Evans of Tucson, Ariz., is a colorful and interactive sculpture creating the illusion of an animation.

Jurists for 2010 exhibit were: Isabel Barbuzza, associate professor of sculpture, University of Iowa School of Art and Art History and Studio Arts and a working artist, living in Iowa City and Argentina; Bill Farrell, former professor of ceramics at School of the Art Institute of Chicago for 35 years, now retired and a working artist in Galena, Ill.; and Amy Mangrich, senior lecturer in the Department of Visual Art, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and co-founder of IN:SITE, an organization promoting temporary public art in Milwaukee.

Art on the River is part of the Dubuque City Council’s Arts and Culture initiative. Working in conjunction with the Arts and Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission, the Dubuque Museum of Art and a volunteer committee made up of artists, educators and city staff, the City has identified highly visible locations at the Port of Dubuque to display selected artwork for a temporary exhibit that changes each year.

The Port of Dubuque is a 90-acre riverfront campus which features the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium, Grand River Center conference center, Grand Harbor Resort and Waterpark, Diamond Jo Casino, historic Dubuque Star Brewery, and Dubuque Shot Tower.

The artists are given a stipend for displaying their work for a year. All of the pieces are for sale but must stay in the exhibit through June 2011.

For information, go to www.cityofdubuque.org/artontheriver