Juried Student Art Exhibition Winners Announced

The 2016 Graceland University Department of Art Annual Juried Art Exhibition opened last Thursday in the Constance Gallery with the display of art and announcement of awards. The exhibition runs through April 22. “As teachers, we have a very real passion for the success of our students,” Karen Gergely, Assistant Professor of Art, said. “A juried art exhibition isn’t just an art competition. It’s an opportunity for students to show their talents and how much they’ve learned and appreciate just what it takes to be a successful artist.

The Graceland juried exhibition consists of artwork submitted by students in designated categories. It is judged by an individual or panel, according to certain measures. Graceland students entered nearly 150 works in one of three categories: two dimensional art, sculpture and graphic design. “We are really proud of the students – without them there is no show,” Gergely said. “They did a great job making quality work and preparing it for exhibition, which included framing, mounting and otherwise getting their work ready to present.”

Artist-in-Residence Victor Cicansky served as the juror in this year’s competition. “Victor had the really tough challenge of narrowing the works down. He carefully looked at the craft, titles of the artwork and meanings in each,” Gergely said. “He tried to determine students who were taking risks in their medium; challenging what they consider to be the norm.”

Before announcing the awards, Julia Franklin, Graceland University Art Department Coordinator, explained who all of the donors were and how their contributions have positively impacted the department and the students. Cicansky selected Katelynn Tracy’s submission to receive the Best in Show award, the highest honor in this year’s completion.

Other awards are listed below:

• Van Biber Honorable mention – Kyra Stevenson and Cheyanne Johnsen
• Van Biber Photo award – Lydia Bendorf
• Wight Printmaking award – Brett Hall
• Wight Painting Honorable Mention – Nicole Snider
• Wright Painting award – Alison Lancelotti
• Wright Mixed Media Honorable Mention – Alyssa Dockins
• Wright Mixed Media award – Ashley Hahne
• Wright Drawing Honorable mention – Kyra Stevenson
• Wright Drawing Award – Evan Kisner
• Aaron Engle Ceramics Honorable mention – Alice Nelms
• Sundell Sculpture award – Cassidy Lynch
• Aaron Engle Ceramics Honorable Mention – Ryan Nilsen
• Aaron Engle Ceramics award – Stephanie Lane
• Van Biber Graphic Design Honorable Mention – Bre Claytor
• Van Biber Graphic Design award – Evan Sloan

“It is risky to enter a juried show. The artists are extremely vulnerable to a juror’s decisions and have no control over what goes into judging their work,” Gergely said. “We hope the community will visit the Graceland University Department of Art’s 2016 Annual Juried Student Art Exhibition from April 7-22 in The Helene Center for the Visual Arts Constance Gallery on the Graceland University Lamoni Campus to see how our student artists responded to this challenge… and shined.”