The Artists of Rubber City are a much unheralded group. ARC doesn’t seem to send out press releases much, and maybe relies on their usual concurrent exhibits along with Summit Artspace (a Knight Arts grantee and where ARC has space on the third floor) to bring in the audience. You’ll often hear someone say aloud that there’s another display on the third floor, so take it in before you leave.

That’s good advice in this case. The 24th Annual Juried Show has a lot going for it. The juror, Anderson Tucker, who is director of galleries at Kent State University’s School of Art, has a well-thought juror’s statement explaining the reasons for his choices – for both presence in the show and for the winners.

He noted that he wanted to be inclusive (presumably in the variety of media and styles) as well as steer away from his own aesthetic and let the artistic decisions of the creators stand on their own.

It’s fairly easy to tell his ambition in selecting out 50 pieces from 33 ARC members’ entries. Not all members made it apparently, nor all of the works of the ones who did.

Even the winners seem somewhat refreshing and surprising. First place was for a woodcarving. How often does that tend to happen in an art world filled with finely crafted, two-dimensional works? This entry, Tom Baldwin’s “Bobolink” is just that – of an exquisitely rendered bird perched on a green reed – and presented in a glass box.

Tom Baldwin, “Bobolink,” woodcarving. Photo by Roger Durbin

Second place went to Mark Jaroszewski for his body of work – a mixed media piece called “Misty Bissy” and “Foral” depicting characters that have an almost alien looking aspect about them.

Susan Yingling took third place for her series “Akron Street Memorials,” which are digitally manipulated photographs of telephone pole remembrances of accidents and tragedies with teddy bears, flowers and other items that are located throughout the Akron area.

Susan Yingling, “Akron Street Memorials,” digital photography. Photo by Roger Durbin

Juror Tuner was forthright in noting that many solid could not be part of the show. It’s also true that they all couldn’t win. However, there are several that seemed especially interesting and probably were in the run off, so take in the exhibit to have a look at them.

You might start with Thomas Reiderman’s digital photograph called “Reflections.” When you think about it, sometimes scenes or places or windows (whatever the subject) are much more luminous and vibrant in reflection. That seems to be the case here in this work. Colors vibrate off the image and appear startlingly clear and complementary at the same time. Reiderman’s work is well-presented as well, with black and gray cutaway matting and a slender black frame that sets the work off in the best possible way.

Thomas Reiderman, “Reflections,” digital photography. Photo by Roger Durbin

Another photograph, this one done with iPhoneography by Cheryl Townsend called “Downtown Thomas, WV” is a captivating image of a couple of buildings done at an odd angle so that the clouded sky is part of the scene. Though a real place, the colors and the angle give the work a stunning abstract quality. The slant also could be interpreted as a comment on an aging but beautiful town.

Cheryl Townsend, “Downtown Thomas, WV,” iPhoneography. Photo by Roger Durbin

Artists of Rubber City’s 24th Annual Juried Show will be on display 12 -5 p.m. Friday-Saturday through August 23 in the Box Gallery, Summit Artspace, 140 E. Market St., Akron; 330-836-8480; www.artistsofrubbercity.org. Admission is free.