“LOTUS GARDEN”: Artist Al Gunther was awarded Best of Show, the Sally Bush Memorial Award, for his glass mosaic piece at the Center for Contemporary Art 2020 Members’ Non-Juried Exhibition and Sale, now available to view online through August 29 at cabedminster.org.

The Center for Contemporary Art (The Center) in Bedminster has announced  its annual Members’ Non-Juried Exhibition and Sale, a yearly opportunity for members to showcase their artwork in any and all media. The variety and range of entries is a testament to the diversity and creativity of The Center’s community of artists.

This year, there are 136 works of art by participating members in painting, pastel, charcoal, ink, graphite, photography, mixed media, glass and ceramics. Because The Center is temporarily closed, the entire exhibition is available to view online at ccabedminster.org through August 29.  All artwork in the exhibition is available for purchase and, in honor of The Center’s 50^th anniversary, all artists are donating 50 percent of sales to The Center.

The judge for this year’s exhibition was Kathleen Palmer, director of Studio 7 Fine Art Gallery in Bernardsville. When speaking of the exhibition, Palmer said, “The Center for Contemporary Art has played an important role in our community for over 50 years. Its programs encourage art in many mediums as seen in this excellent exhibition. The atmosphere at The Center has encouraged exploration, guidance, and encouragement for artists of all ages. In judging this show, I wanted to acknowledge the achievements of artists in different mediums.”

Best of Show, the Sally Bush Memorial Award, was presented to Al Gunther (Bridgewater) for his glass mosaic piece, Lotus Garden; and the Ceramics Award of Excellence went to Michael Brailove (Highland Park) for his ceramic work, Red’s Relative.

Awards of Excellence were given to Grace Bernhardt (Bridgewater) and Katherine Van Der Stad (Bedminster); Honorable Mentions were received by Vimala Arunachalam (Plainsboro), Steven Epstein (Edison), Margaret Fanning (Warren), Susanna Kopchains (Far Hills) and Linda Laustsen (Basking Ridge).