9th annual Juried Art Show opens

“Orgy in the Oval Office” is one of the many pieces a visitor will find while walking around at the Kinsey Institute Juried Art Show.

There will be an open reception for the ninth annual Juried Art Show from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday in the Grunwald Gallery of Art, and it’s free to the public.

Four selected jurors chose contemporary art pieces from artists to be displayed, said Catherine Johnson-Roehr, Kinsey Institute art curator.

The show usually averages an attendance of 300 people at the opening reception, and they hope to reach that number this year, too, she said.

“This is the sixth year the show has been held in the gallery,” Grunwald Gallery director Betsy Stirratt said.

The exhibit will be open Saturday and remain open until July 12.

The show will feature artwork of a variety of themes — sex, gender, eroticism and sexuality, among others.

Gary Milius is the associate curator of art, artifacts and photographs at the Kinsey Institute.

“Visitors can expect to see pieces from all over,” Milius said.

The show not only brings in a wide range of visitors, but it also brings exposure to the Kinsey Institute, Johnson-Roehr said.

“A lot of artists do not know about Kinsey and find out about us through this event,” Johnson-Roehr said.

There will be pieces that reflect an artist’s pain from abuse to more informative pieces about a study of men’s pheromones.

Artist Jen Lewis’s work, “Beauty in Blood,” will be featured. Her work shows what happens to menstrual blood when it is put in salt water.

“Myself and other jurors try to select pieces that are both fun and serious,” Milius said.

Many of the pieces are only for show, but there will be some available for purchase, which will be available to pick up after the exhibit ends July 12, Milius said.