EVERGREEN, COLORADO – After 43 years in Golden, the Rocky Mountain National Watermedia (RMNW) exhibition is coming to Evergreen September 16 – October 28, 2017. The exhibition will debut in Center for the Arts Evergreen’s (CAE) new facility at 1318 Highway 65, the site of the former historic Bergen Park Church, in Evergreen. The reception and award ceremony is Saturday, September 16, from 4:00 to 8:00 pm.
Watercolor, like Jazz and Bluegrass, is considered a uniquely American art form. American artists such as Winslow Homer and John Marin made watercolor a respected medium in its own right. Now, over 100 years later, watermedia is continuing to surprise and delight its patrons and fans.
The first RMNW exhibition was held in 1974. Due to the status of the first jurors, the amount of award money, and donations from community businesses, art groups and individual sponsors, the exhibit was an immediate success. The first exhibition drew nearly 1,000 entries from across the United States, and put Golden, Colorado on the national art scene map. RMNW became one of the four top watercolor exhibitions in the country, in league with the American Watercolor Society, based in New York, The National Watercolor Society out of California and Watercolor USA in Missouri.
The founding RMNW committee used the word “watermedia” instead of “watercolor” in the show title, intending that the perception of traditional watercolor would be broadened. Watermedia was meant to encourage experimentation and exploration in all of the water-based media including transparent watercolor, acrylic, casein, gouache, egg tempera and mixed watermedia. CAE looks forward to continuing the tradition of this very prestigious exhibition, and introducing the local community to the depth and breadth of what is watermedia in 2017.
Center for the Arts Evergreen (CAE) was founded in 1974. Since then, CAE has been a leader in advocacy and support for visual and performing arts in Evergreen. The year 2017 is a landmark year for CAE as it moves into its new home, the renovated and expanded "Old Bergen Church,” a designated historic Jefferson County landmark. The new CAE will allow for expanded programming, providing exhibitions, classes, festivals, concerts, and special events to serve the greater cultural needs of Evergreen.
Contact: Becky Guy, Director of Exhibitions and Marketing, Center for the Arts Evergreen, 303.674.0056 ext. 12, curator@evergreenarts.org
