The Undergraduate Juried Exhibition showcases the talent of undergraduate students and awards some artists.
A multicolor face made entirely out of wool and a video highlighting police altercations are some of the various pieces of art visitors can see at the Undergraduate Juried Exhibition in the Ohio University Art Gallery in Seigfred Hall.
The works in the gallery include pieces from students in their freshman through senior years and have a wide range of mediums used for the art. Some include ceramics, painting, wool work and even a video piece.
The gallery will be on display until Dec. 5.
“The artworks that stood out were pieces that went beyond a typical ‘project’ and began to get to someplace original and personal,” Travis Townsend, the juror for the exhibition and a senior art lecturer at Eastern Kentucky University, said in his juror’s statement. “Of course, skill in the use of media, form and imagery was vital. But more importantly, it was having enough recognition about the process of creation to take the artwork where it needed to go.”
Townsend credited being selected as a juror to his connections to OU faculty.
“They put forth my name, and I guess that’s how I was selected,” Townsend said. “There was really a lot of unique, original and high-quality work in the gallery. It made it hard to choose.”
Out of the 185 pieces entered by 89 artists into the show, only 64 pieces by 39 artists were chosen.
“It was cool to see all of the talent the students here have,” Emily Kumler, a senior studying psychology and social work who visited the gallery Nov. 14, said. “All of the pieces told a story and were unique from one another. Students’ art should be displayed more."
Alayna Coverly, a senior studying studio art, has several pieces in the exhibition, including a painted piece called “But Not Forgotten,” which resembled draped fabric.
“This semester I tried something different with fabric,” Coverly said. “It was about the remnants people leave in our lives when they’re gone. I went to college, and I have little things that my sister has given me, and I think about her when I have them. It’s actually her under the cloth in the painting. It shows how people are still there even if they’re gone, or you’re not talking.”
Townsend gave three “juror awards” to students while other faculty and community members, such as First Lady of OU Debra McDavis, handed out awards.
It was hard to choose the art, but Townsend said the effort really lies with the students.
“It is never an easy thing to do. Really, it isn’t,” Townsend said in his juror’s statement. “First you have to make the stuff, figure out what it might mean and if it is successful, and then you need to prepare it for display. All of those things take time, frustration, moments of inspiration and some money, as well. … There were many fabulous creations that didn’t make it in.”
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