The Department of Art and Art History at Baldwin Wallace University presented the 2013 Annual Student Art Exhibition Opening Reception at the Fawick Gallery located inside Kleist Center of Art & Drama. The Fawick Gallery holds six exhibitions each year, three in the fall and three in the spring. One of the exhibits that displays a variety of BW student work is the juried student exhibition.
As a competition, students may submit up to five entries. A judge from outside BW is selected in order for the opinion to remain objective, and then the judge chooses the strongest pieces from the selection. Nina Huryn was chosen as the judge for this year’s student art exhibition.
Rich Cihlar, Office Manager for the Art Department, explains the process of preparing the gallery for the exhibition.
“There is never a set theme for the student exhibition. Since many of the works come from studio art majors, as well non-studio art majors, there is a wide range of works and different media.” Cihlar said.
The works in this year’s student art exhibition consisted of sculpture, ceramics, paintings, drawings, digital media, blown glass, 3D design, jewelry and metal design.
Rich also described the process of preparing and grouping the different works to be displayed.
“While there is no set theme, the show really does come together,” Cihlar said.
Cihlar also explained the flow of the exhibit.
“There is a sense of a story in the presentation of the works,” Cihlar said. “Some are grouped together by their color harmonies, theme in subject matter, or the media used to create the work. There is one painting of a woods presented next to a painting of an old mill. They were done by two different artists, but are similar in color palettes.”
In addition, Cihlar explains how some works compliment each other, even though they are not made from the same media.
“In some areas, the brass and copper jewelry pieces compliment the paintings,” Cihlar said.
- Oil Painting on Canvas by Cheyenne Richmond
The gallery is divided into three sections.
“There are different pockets and spaces present that help with displaying the exhibit,” Cihlar said. “There is a variation in where the works are placed in terms of size of the space and the size of the works.”
Cihlar stresses the importance of layout and explains the goal of wanting people to encounter things in a way they are not prepared for and are not expecting.
“Placement and preparation are so important in an exhibition, if you disregard that aspect, you will become overwhelmed by the amount of artwork,” Cihlar said. “Every time someone moves to a different place, the goal is to have people feel and see differently within that new perspective.”
The Annual Student Art Exhibition is the most populated and the most attended because of the variety of students who participate.
“Attendance really relies on the artists bringing people in and extending invitations, [and] in the end it helps make up a very populated show,” Cihlar said.
The most chaotic aspect of preparing the exhibition is the creation of a smooth, cohesive theme.
Awards are also given at the show, such as The Best of Show Award, Honorable Mentions, The Center of Academic and Professional Success Award, Academic Deans Award, Admissions Award, and Adult and Continuing Education Award.
“It is always exciting to see students here at BW grow in the arts and receive recognition for the hard work that they have done.” Cihlar said.
