“Listen With All Your Might" by Matthew Bailey of Milwaukee

The winner of the Best of Show prize at the 40th annual ArtsWest exhibition isn’t from western Wisconsin, but his artwork has a strong link to the Chippewa Valley. Matthew Bailey of Milwaukee created his prize-winning graphite-on-stitched paper piece, “Listen With All Your Might,” as the cover art for Chippewa Valley musician Greg Gilbertson’s 2018 album Surviving the Echoes. Jurors Franklin and Lynn Zetzman selected Bailey’s work from among 220 pieces submitted to the annual show at the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library in Eau Claire. The Zetzmans, a married team of artists from Appleton, chose 60 pieces for the exhibit, representing 56 artists. Other prize winners, announced at the exhibit’s opening reception in April, include: Anders Shafer, Eau Claire, “Watteau—Love and War,” first prize; Barbara Shafer, Eau Claire, “Butterfly,” second prize; and Daniel Ingersoll, Eau Claire, “Infrastructure Exposed,” honorable mention. The ArtsWest exhibit will be on display during the library’s regular hours through May 28. Learn more online at www.ecpubliclibrary.info/art.