Student art draws crowd

Rebecca Jordan
News Editor

Walking into the room, your eyes are assaulted with bright colors and intricate designs hung precisely on clean, white walls. As you walk up to the nearest piece, you bump shoulders with those in the crowd and realize that the room is packed with people who are all here to see student art.

Students, professors, family and friends came out last Friday for the art, food and fellowship at the 2016 juried student art exhibit.

There were over 80 works on display in the bottom floor of the teaching gallery by sophomore and freshmen fine arts students. These works include drawings, paintings, photography, and two dimensional design classes.

On the top floor, over 40 pieces can be viewed by the advanced art students who chose to stay at Hudson Valley for an additional year beyond the traditional two years it takes to receive an associate’s degree.

Art professors Tara Fracalossi and Thomas Lail presented awards to students, including achievement awards for each fine arts class. They also gave out two lighthearted honors to two students who kept the coffee pot in the drawing and painting studio full throughout the semester.

“There are two things that make late-night studio access work in the drawing and painting studio: the music sound system and the coffee pot,” Lail said.

Lail and Fracalossi also gave four awards for the best-in-show that were sponsored by Arlene’s Artist Materials. These awards were juried by Amy Griffin, coordinator for the exhibits and public programs at the Opalka Gallery of Sage College. Each winner was given a bouquet of flowers and a gift card to Arlene’s.

Echo Goff, fine arts sophomore, won for her Untitled oil piece from her Painting 2 course.

Fine arts sophomore Olivia Hacket’s photograph titled Children of Life was chosen as one of the winners.

Chris Casey, fine arts sophomore, received his award for his oil painting, Cubism #3, from his Painting 2 class.

Takia Gibbs, fine arts freshman, won the last award for her charcoal-on-paper Master Study done for her Drawing 2 class.

This is the first year that the digital media and fine arts programs have had separate student art shows. The digital media show, Pulse, was open from Apr. 8 through 16.

The fine arts student exhibit will be open in the teaching gallery in the Administration Building until May 7.