2021 Juried Student Exhibition

April 23 – July 30, 2021

The Visual Arts Program is proud to present the Annual Juried Student Exhibition. Artworks in this exhibition are selected by an external juror and offer students a real-world experience in applying for a juried exhibition. In addition, over ten awards will be given as well as several purchase awards. The 2021 Juried Exhibition is a virtual showcase of student work.

Content Advisory
This virtual exhibition may contain violence, nudity and provocative imagery and concepts.

Juror
Joe Hedges (b. 1980) is an intermedia artist who has developed an expansive practice that weaves together oil painting, new media, music and installation. Hedges recent works explore ways conventional approaches to rendering with oil painting can literally and conceptually interface with new media elements, analog devices and objects to create works that are part-painting and part-installation or sculpture. As a curator, Hedges has worked with collective Near*By to stage ephemeral and interdisciplinary exhibitions that connect artists and pluralistic audiences. In Cincinnati, Ohio he ran Boom Gallery, a project space that featured exhibitions and curatorial experiments by regional and national artists including friend and frequent collaborator Corrina Mehiel (1982-2017). https://www.joehedges.com/

Juror's Statement About the Exhibition
I was so pleased to serve as a juror for this exhibition and was excited by the quality and range of work. As an NKU alumnus, I remember my own excitement as a BFA student upon having work accepted for the student juried exhibition, and so I am especially delighted to be in a position to provide recognition to creative students at NKU now. I evaluated works based on demonstrated craft and technique in the medium, effective use of formal elements, and with some special consideration given to the quality of documentation images, particularly because this is an online exhibition. Then, I considered the content. I was struck by works that made me pause and reflect, that contained a sense of the personal or of a distinct perspective, or evoked feelings of mystery or intrigue. In short, I included works that I felt a viewer could have an active emotional or intellectual role in completing through looking. I found it especially difficult to choose the merit awards, because so many works were deserving of special recognition!

I was not surprised to discover that many of these works seem to speak to the sense of isolation that we all felt in some way or another during the last year of the Covid-19 pandemic, and it is almost impossible to see these works without that filter. From the detached gaze of the figure in Wegner's accomplished painting "Love Letter” to the telling pose and expression of the individual in DeWald’s photograph “Face to Face" many works in this exhibition seemed to speak confidently and honestly to the difficulties all students are facing now. In works submitted where figures were present, nearly all the figures seemed to be in a moment of distress. Where figures were absent such as in still life or landscapes, that absence is keenly felt. Even in a “normal” year, being an art student is challenging and I realize that. With this in mind, I would like to applaud this group for their perseverance and achievements. With a society in a state of moral panic due to the one-two punch of the pandemic and mass realization of persistent societal inequities, we need artists and story-tellers more than ever to communicate their perspectives, and in doing so give viewers a window through which we can better understand both individual struggles and broader contemporary issues. I felt connected to the struggles—and talents—of these students through jurying this exhibition, and I am encouraged by their resilience. I am encouraged, too, to know that this group of artists will play a role in shaping the future, both within and beyond the fine arts.

* Please contact Gallery Director, David Knight if you are interested in purchasing work.
knight@nku.edu or (859) 572-5148

Virtual Gallery

Adil Akhtar
Insecurity
Digital Photo
BEST IN SHOW

Adil Akhtar
Nature's Essence
Digital Photo

Adil Akhtar
Lost in Time
Medium format photo

James Bailey
Don't Lose Your Head
Colored pencil and watercolor

Mary Bays
Where the Focus Lies
Charcoal and chalk
MERIT AWARD

Amanda Bollman
Reflections
Charcoal on paper

John Cantey
Breaking Down the Bricks
Video, 03:37
MERIT AWARD

Ash Coleman
House of Cards: Legend
Laser printer on paper

Payton Combs
Down the Rabbit Hole
Playing cards, wood, funnel

Payton Combs
Still Life with Boot
Charcoal on paper

Evey Cooper
Self Portrait (Goblin)
Digital

Julia Crandall
The Text
Charcoal, acrylic, chalk & pastel on paper
MERIT AWARD

Julia Crandall
Breaking Point
Charcoal on paper

Patrick Davis
Autumist
Color Photography

Patrick Davis
Pawley Girls
B/W Photography

Natalie Desmarais
Call Me By Your Name Timeline
Digital Design

Maria DeWald
Face to Face
Photograph
MERIT AWARD

Emily Ferry
Spaces
Video, 02:20

Hallie Fogarty
Moment in Time
Drypoint print – ink on paper

Hallie Fogarty
Manor
Linocut print – ink on paper

Tyler Fraiture
Red Nose
Mixed media: wood & acrylic

Sydney Gregory
National Park Types
Digital spread

Sydney Gregory
Ello AI Managed Email Client
Digital prototype

Maria Groves
Exhausted
Graphite

Khanh Ha
Tet
Watercolor on paper
MERIT AWARD

Khanh Ha
Soul of Lotus
Watercolor on paper

Hayes Hiltenbeitel
NKU Empty
Digital photography

Hayes Hiltenbeitel
Build Nothing::Build Nowhere
GIF image sequence

Jessica Jones
Green Man
Ceramic

Helena Kaelin
Still Life
Oil
MERIT AWARD

Helena Kaelin
Among the Lily Pads
Oil

Helena Kaelin
Nymph
Stoneware

Greta Kelley
Taxidermy Fish
Ceramic, acrylic paint, mica powder feathers, a marble, wood plaque

Greta Kelley
On the Inside Looking Out
Ceramic

Anastasia Koloc
Portrait of a Girl
Charcoal on paper

Anastasia Koloc
Face Less
Graphite on mylar

Anastasia Koloc
Sara at Her Piano
Oil on panel

Jane Langford
Still Life Studies
Pen on paper + digital

Jane Langford
Grove Upon Her
Digital image

Mackenzie Nelms
Bias in Ballet
Photo prints and paper
MERIT AWARD

Mackenzie Nelms
Bernie
Digital

Rachel Peavler
Self-Portrait
Oil on canvas

Ella Rinehard
Self Control
Graphite on paper

Ella Rinehard
Mid Afternoon Snack
Oil on board

Serhiy Royter
Portrait of Augusta
Gouche on paper

Serhiy Royter
Couple in Quarantine
Colored pencil on paper

Jessica Ruehl
Late Nights
Ink on paper

Em Sanning
Raye
Colored pencil

Travis Sparks
Parental Guidance 1
Ceramic
MERIT AWARD

Travis Sparks
Parental Guidance 2
Ceramic

Spencer Stead
Two Brothers Baking product lineup
Archival inkjet print

Spencer Stead
Two Brothers Baking stationary
Archival inkjet print

Spencer Stead
Burgeoning
Archival inkjet print

Rusty Surgener
Existential Dread+Nihilism
Acrylic on canvas

Olivia Thomas
Mother Nature's Return
Mixed media

Olivia Thomas
Study of Love
Mixed media

Amber Vickers
Drip
Oil on canvas

Latonya Vires
Under Control
Graphic art

Sally Wendt
Strange Nature
Digital photo

Chloe Wenger
Love Letter
Oil on canvas
MERIT AWARD

Chloe Wenger
Self Portrait
Ceramic sculpture

Chloe Wenger
Metamorphosis of the Bastard
Ceramic sculpture

Zoe Whelan
The Devil in my Bloodstream

Zoe Whelan
Coexist
Ceramic with underglaze, glaze and luster