Like most of Linn's conceptual works, the image can be interpreted in multiple ways. Does the fabric represent a divine presence? A departed human soul rising to the heavens? A malevolent force? An epiphany?

"In my mind it's opening up and reaching outward and upwards. But some people might think it's corkscrewing itself into the ground. You can ascribe whatever meaning you want to it," Linn says. "I don't try to think about it too much. It's nice to retain some sense of mystery."

Viewers can decipher the painting for themselves at the 83rd annual Spring Salon, opening today at the Springville Museum of Art. The largest invitational show in the state, Springville's salon offers a sweeping look at what Utah's artists are up to - sort of a "State of the State," from a visual art perspective.

This year's juried show showcases 296 works in almost every conceivable medium chosen from a record 1,058 submissions. Museum director Vern Swanson believes the sheer volume of the entries makes for a strong sampling of Utah art.

"It's the most eye-popping show that I've seen here in 27 years," says Swanson, who honored Linn's "Revealed" with his Director's Award. "The quality of work is a little higher, and the paintings seem to be a little bigger. We got a lot of good large paintings. People want to be noticed."

The show's guest juror was Jacob Collins, a prominent New York City realist painter who visited Springville this month to lecture on art and review the flood of entries. Collins, reached by phone at his studio, says he was impressed with his first exposure to Utah's art community.

"There were a number of excellent works and a number of serious artists. It's surprising to find that number of serious artists anywhere," he says. "This is the kind of scene I'm happy to know is out there."

The diversity of the Spring Salon makes it difficult each year to identify artistic trends. But it's notable that, in a state whose art scene is dominated by landscape painting, few landscapes were among the salon's award winners. Instead, jurors favored figurative paintings and challenging metaphorical works.

Collins and co-juror Donna Poulton gave the salon's top prize to two classical nudes of a pregnant woman by Spring City painter Douglas M. Fryer. Although Fryer submitted the two paintings as separate entries, they were honored as a pair. Says the artist, "Hopefully people will respond to the works with the same feeling I had when I was creating them."

A second-place award went to Salt Lake City painter Edie Roberson, whose "The Ladies Club" is a whimsical gathering of women figures at a cocktail party. Among them are Da Vinci's "Mona Lisa," Venus from Botticelli's "Primavera" and a two-dimensional woman from a Japanese woodcut. Why them? Roberson isn't saying.

"In my paintings I don't like to tell a story. I like [viewers] to make up their own story," she says. "I don't like to limit people's imaginations."

Viewers also will need their imaginations to interpret Bruce Smith's large canvas, which took third place. The painting, a response to Marcel Duchamp's surrealist assemblage, "The Bride Stripped Bare By Her Bachelors, Even," depicts the bust of a man (the titular bachelor) beneath a slip and a floral print dress, both of which suspend from hangers. The Springville artist created the painting as a pro-feminist defense of modernism, and of painting itself.

And then there's Linn's fabric spiral, which examines spiritual concepts not often explored in Utah art. Like many of the other artists, Linn values being represented in the Springville salon even though he sells his work almost entirely out of state.

"To be in the salon is an honor. It's very important for Utah artists to be engaged in Utah and to be sharing their work with Utahns," says the painter, who lives in Elk Ridge. "And it's important for Utahns to see what's going on [artistically] here."

griggs@sltrib.com

Award winners

* FIRST PLACE: Douglas M. Fryer, "Seated Model, Karli," oil on panel; "Studio Model, Karli at Five Months," oil on panel.

* SECOND PLACE: Edie Roberson, "The Ladies Club," acrylic, pencil, pastel; Fred D. Howard, "North Heber Summer," oil.

* THIRD PLACE: Don Allen, "Plums in a Basket," oil; Bruce Smith, "The Bachelor," oil; Brent Godfrey, "Stranger in a Strange Land," mixed media.

* DIRECTOR'S AWARD: David Linn, "Revealed," oil.

* ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR'S AWARD: Aaron A. Stills, "Preserving Summer's Bounties," oil.

* ASSISTANT DIRECTOR'S AWARD: Dennis Smith, "Ancient Ship, Self-Portrait," assemblage.

* INVITED: Jeff Hein, "12 Shades," oil; Jeff Hein, "Conversation," oil; Pete Plastow, "Parriott Mesa," oil.

THE SPRINGVILLE MUSEUM OF ART'S 83rd Annual Spring Salon, showcasing almost 300 artworks by Utah artists, opens today at 126 E. 400 South in Springville. The show will remain through July 8.

THE MUSEUM will celebrate the Spring Salon's opening with an Art Ball Saturday from 7 to 11 p.m., featuring a light dinner, dancing, a treasure hunt and other activities. Tickets are $25, $15 for salon artists. Call 801-489-2727 or visit www.sma.nebo.edu.