DuBOIS — Local artist Sara Zilhaver is among the select group of artists featured in the 103rd Annual Spring Show at the Erie Art Museum, one of the region’s premier juried exhibitions. The exhibition is on view through Aug. 7.
Zilhaver was selected as one of 77 artists chosen from more than 350 applicants, placing her work among a highly competitive field of artists from throughout the museum’s 250-mile exhibition region.
For the exhibition, Zilhaver submitted a diptych entitled A World in Her Hands #1 and A World in Her Hands #2. The drawings explore the mystery of imagination, creativity, and the unseen landscapes that exist within the human mind.
“My work is meant to represent the magical act of thinking, creation, and the realms within our inner minds,” said Zilhaver. “I am interested in bringing a physicality to the fever-like dream worlds induced by psychosis and other altered states of being.”
The work made an immediate impression on viewers. Both of the pieces sold on opening night, highlighting the strong reception the drawings received from collectors attending the exhibition.
Zilhaver earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from The Cooper Union in 2012 and also studied at the Yale Norfolk School of Art. Although this is her first exhibition at the Erie Art Museum, her work has previously been shown in group exhibitions in Pittsburgh and New York City.
Founded in 1923, the Spring Show is one of the nation’s longest-running juried exhibitions and serves as a showcase for contemporary artists living, working, or studying within 250 miles of Erie. Hundreds of works are submitted each year, with only a select number chosen for exhibition.
The 103rd Annual Spring Show remains on display at the Erie Art Museum through Aug. 7, offering visitors an opportunity to experience a diverse range of contemporary artwork from across the region, including Zilhaver’s imaginative diptych, A World in Her Hands #1 and A World in Her Hands #2.