Of 182 submitted works of art, 40 (from 37 different artists) have been chosen for the annual Undergraduate Juried Exhibition, which will run from Tuesday until Feb. 20, with the reception and awards ceremony, originally set for Tuesday, being postponed because of the university’s closing.
The exhibition is for undergraduate students at Ohio University’s Athens and regional campuses and is highly competitive, said Petra Kralickova, director of exhibits at Ohio University School of Art galleries.
“Each year the exhibition presents an opportunity for the School of Art + Design students to exhibit their work, sometimes for the very first time, in a professional gallery,” she said.
Michelle Rutschilling, a senior studying graphic design, entered an oil painting of a country landscape inspired by a study abroad trip to the United Kingdom for her first time entering a piece in an exhibit.
“The trip inspired and changed some of my views of art, and what a better way to commemorate the trip than to create art from my memories from such an inspiring time in my life?” she said.
Jasen Bernthisel, a senior studying sculpture and expanded practice, used his piece, “Social Entropy,” as a way to explore social interaction.
“I was interested in depicting the frustration surrounding various societal constructs,” he said.
Students pay $5 to submit up to three pieces for consideration which are then judged by visiting artists chosen by the School of Art + Design Visiting Artist and Scholar Committee.
The submission money is redistributed as awards along with non-monetary prizes such as some from the College of Fine Arts and one from OU President Roderick McDavis’ wife Deborah.
Artists Angeles Cossio and Jeff Thompson will jury this year’s exhibition.
“The visiting jurors stay for several days, jury and choose the artworks for the exhibition and deliver an artist lecture,” Kralickova said. “In this instance, they spoke about ‘Drift Station’ (their gallery performance space) ...and gave (graduate students) studio critiques.”
The exhibit is an opportunity to show the variety of art styles used by the students in the School of Art + Design, Bernthisel said.
“It is an excellent opportunity for members of the OU community to experience the arts and create a potential for collaboration between various facets of the OU student body,” he said.
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