CU's Department of Art and Design holds annual Student Juried Art Show

by Gerard Flanagan, lead writer and communications specialist, Office of Marketing and Communications

Campbellsville, KY (05/21/2024) — Campbellsville University's Department of Art and Design held its annual Student Juried Art Show recently in The Pence-Chowning Art Gallery.

Categories judged at the art show were 2D (Drawing, Painting and Mixed Media), Photography, Printmaking and Graphic Design and 3D (Ceramics, Sculpture and Animation, Digital Drawing and Digital Painting).

Artwork is selected for first, second and third place in each category. A Best of Show was selected among artwork receiving first place. First-place artwork was purchased by the university for the permanent collection.

Jacob Lee, from Elizabethtown, Ky., was the juror for this year's Art Show. Lee served four years in the United States Army, including one tour in Iraq. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Arts with a concentration in Printmaking and Graphic Design from the University of Kentucky.

Additionally, he holds a Master of Arts and a Master of Fine Arts in Printmaking from the University of Iowa.

He is currently an Instructor of Art at Morehead State University, teaching Printmaking, and will be teaching with the Governor's School for the Arts. He has previously taught at Berea College, the University of Iowa and Eastern Kentucky University. His artworks have been exhibited both nationally and internationally.

The Student Juried Art Show gives students real-world experience in calls for artwork submissions and an opportunity for resume building.

"The artwork the students selected for this year's show was collectively one of the highest in craftsmanship and concepts," Susie Trejo Williams, associate professor of Art and Design at CU, said. "Students also submitted into various categories, showing that they are versatile in materiality, making them marketable as interdisciplinary artists.

"The juror, Jacob Lee, did an excellent job envisioning the overall scope of the exhibition and giving insightful comments back to the students. It was a delight to have him zoom in for the Awards ceremony."

This year's Best of Show was awarded to Sarah Wortham for her work "About to Blow" from the Drawing and Painting Category.

Lee commented, "The stylization, use of color, and technical execution in Wortham's painting creates a wonderfully playful and conceptual composition. The symbolism of humans displayed as 'worker ants' manufacturing explosives creates a contemporary narrative of our contributions to war effort and capitalism.

"It has a playfulness and maturity as well as a distinct and confident handle of color and marks."

Wortham, a senior from Madisonville, Ky., recently graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Art & Design Area with Graphic Design Emphasis).

Award winners from each category are as follows:

Drawing/Painting: First place - Sarah Wortham, "About to Blow"; Second place - Raleigh Jones, junior from Louisville, Ky. "Art Noir Selfie"; Third place - Meredith Wilson, sophomore from Lexington, Ky., "Mer"

Photography: First place - Yawatit Dawaen, sophomore from Wiang, Thailand; "A Man With Faint Light"; Second place - Clara Asprella, sophomore from La Plata, Argentina; "Wavin Flag"; Third place - Eden Hale, junior from Eleele, Hawaii, "Small Boat"

Digital: First place - Raleigh Jones, "Cold Wind"; Second place - Alexandra Polley, junior from Campbellsville, Ky., "Muse"; Third place - Allen Parrish, senior from Long Beach, Calif., "Untitled"

Printmaking/Graphic Design: First place - Helen Roberts, senior from Campbellsville, Ky., "Obsession Pink"; Second place - JeNya Martin, senior from Louisville, Ky., "Jazz Cats"; Third place - Matt Stults, junior from Louisville, Ky., "Early Bird Coffee"

3D/Sculpture: First place - Helen Roberts, "A Saintly Relic"; Second place - Jekwan Gholston, junior from Campbellsville, Ky., "The Mask"; Third place - Shuichi Kitajima, senior from Campbellsville, Ky., "My Head"

Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university that offers over 100 programs including doctoral, master, bachelor, associate and certificate programs. The website for complete information is www.campbellsville.edu.

Helen

Roberts