Zenith the 2022 Bachelor of Fine Arts Exhibit is now on display through Sunday, April 3, in the galleries in the Fine Arts Center on the BGSU campus.
The exhibit includes the work by 53 students graduating this semester with BFA degrees in graphic design, studio art, digital art, and art education.
Joseph Van Kerkhove, of the University of Tiffin, served as juror for the show.
In his statement he writes: “I always enjoy seeing BFA students’ artwork. It is an amazing time in an artist’s life. Students are taking risks, finding their voice, building their technique and using their art to address their ideas and passions.”
Van Kerkhove praised the diversity of artistic visions and materials used to express those visions. “Seeing new technologies alongside traditional woodfired ceramics, demonstrated the versatility of the students and their artistic practices.
Awards determined by the juror were:
- Dominick & Elizabeth Labino Art & Technology Award to Grant Turner for his laser engraved enameled copper and metal wall pieces. In his statement, Turner writes: “It’s important to recognize not only the trauma one might hold onto, but also releasing any predisposed ideas or feelings you have of yourself. … Walking with this process and body of work has been rather transformative me. It’s opened my eyes to the possibilities of my future. It’s a body of work that has completely engulfed my world and carried me to a higher understanding of myself and how I fit in this world. I’ve poured past and present strife within these pieces and I feel better for it.”
- Monnier Family Foundation Outstanding Artist Award to Tony Sansalone for his collection of charcoal drawings of family and friends. In his statement, Sansalone writes: “I choose to draw people who have had an influence on my life and treat the act of drawing itself as a form of contemplation, spending countless hours looking, drawing, and reflecting on the relationship between the person I am drawing and myself. When finished, the drawing changes my perspective of each person; I feel as if through the act of drawing them, through my perspective, I created a more intimate and empathetic relationship between them and I.”
- The faculty selected Aaron Rosa for the Medici Circle Cup Best of Show Award for his ceramic sculptures and prints. In his artist’s statement, Rosa writes: “I create sculptures of objects that are based on my Puerto Rican heritage; specifically my interpretations of objects of necessity or utility I have seen in the streets when I visit. My work aspires to gain a greater understanding of my own identity as I explore these objects as formal sculptures and prints.”
- Click for a complete list of winners and to view the work digitally.
Gallery hours are Tuesday – Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Thursday evening, 6-9 p.m.; and Sunday, 1-4 p.m.
(RELATED: Best of show artist Tony Sansalone draws on pandemic for inspiration)
