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canvas at the 20th Annual National Juried Fine Arts Exhibition held recently in Goldsboro, N.C. Her painting, entitled "In the Garden," was selected from 377 entries from 22 states. Ninety-eight of the 377 entries were selected by the juror for exhibition in the show. John Dunwoody, a Davidson College junior, also submitted a work selected for exhibition. Sponsored by the Community Arts Council of Wayne County, the Juried Art Show has developed over its 20 year history into a prestigious national competition. Juror for the show was Molly Donovan, assistant curator of 20th- century art at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. In commenting on her selection of Prosen's work, Donovan noted that it was "a timely subject so well done. The lone figure sits on a vibrant red sofa, wearing a floral print dress that matches the wallpaper, probably the only color in her otherwise drab life." Alice Strickland, executive director of the Community Arts Council, remarked, "The painting causes the viewer to pause, evoking so much emotion. The dark hallway just around the corner leads off to some unknown place, as it does for us all." Prosen commented, "Of course I was delighted to be selected. I try not to get too excited in advance as there is a lot of rejection in this business. I was particularly pleased to have a juror of Ms. Donovan's stature choose my work. This is my first painting to become part of a permanent gallery collection." This particular painting, unlike many of Prosen's works, focuses on a solitary figure. Her paintings are often like oversized expressionistic dreamworlds, filled with colorful people and unusual images that work together to convey a message, sometimes amusing, sometimes unpleasant. She said that "In the Garden" is a portrait of loneliness, with subtle spiritual undertones. The viewer relates emotionally to the elderly woman lost in her reverie, then follows the floor tiles into the shadowed hallway and off the edge of the scene. Born and raised in Winnipeg, Prosen received a bachelor's degree in art from the University of Manitoba. Moving to Milwaukee, she took pre-med courses at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee planning to follow her father's career path into psychiatry. But she was drawn back into art and completed the M.F.A. at UWM in 1995. Since that time she has been both painting and teaching at UWM and at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. During her two years at Davidson she is teaching basic studio courses each semester and producing artwork in her own studio in preparation for a solo show in Davidson's William H. Van Every Jr. Gallery next spring. She has received a grant to travel to Spain this summer to do research on Spanish art and images from the Inquisition, which she will use as reference material in her most current body of work.
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