Eight UK Art Students Recognized at Carey Ellis Show
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 9, 2011) − Eight University of Kentucky art students were recognized as part of the Carey Ellis Juried Student Art Exhibition. The art show, featuring work by graduate and undergraduate art students at UK, was presented in the Barnhart Gallery as part of the UK Department of Art and Art Graduate Student Association's Open Studio event held Dec. 2, at the Reynolds Building Number 1.
Winners of the Carey Ellis show were selected by juror Aaron McIntosh, a textile artist and assistant professor of art at James Madison University, in Harrisonburg, Va.
McIntosh selected three prize winners for the Carey Ellis Juried Art Show. Colleen Toutant, a graduate student from Lexington, took first place for her mixed media work "Made in Kentucky"; Sarah Hahn, a graduate student from St. Clairsville, Ohio, took second place for her sculpture "Bacchus"; and Ming Hong, an art studio senior from Baltimore, Md., took third place for her drawing "Untitled." The Carey Ellis award winners received cash prizes and certificates from the Art Graduate Student Association for their achievements.
Hong also took home one other award for the evening, the Theophilia Joan Oexmann Award, given by the faculty of the UK Department of Art to students who demonstrate great promise through the originality and creativity of their work in studio art. The Oexmann Award also went to Brandon Mason, an art studio senior from Lexington studying photography. In recognition of their achievement, Hong received a $700 scholarship and Mason received a $300 scholarship from the department.
The Arturo Alonzo Sandoval Fiber Award was awarded to Faville Donahue, an art studio and mechanical engineering senior from Lawrenceburg, Ky. Presented by Alumni Endowed Professor of Art Arturo Alonzo Sandoval, the Sandoval Fiber Award is presented to an artist juried into the Carey Ellis show whose worked demonstrated great use of fiber. Donahue received a $100 cash prize for this recognition.
The Ross Zirkle Memorial Art Studio Award was presented to Jiayuan "Emma" Shen, an art studio junior from Jixi City, China. Created in memory of faculty member Ross Zirkle, funds for this award were raised from the donations of friends, family and former students of Zirkle, one of the college's most beloved professors. The Zirkle Award is presented to a student studying printmaking or drawing, who exhibits the qualities of artistic excellence, dedication to hard work and interest in helping the community that Zirkle exhibited in his own life. Last summer, Shen volunteered to work with exchange students from Shanghai University as part of a Confucius Institute program at UK. Shen received a $300 scholarship for this honor.
The NCAA Department of Art Award was presented to Will Doerting, an art studio senior from Frankfort, Ky. The award provides financial aid to students who demonstrate potential for academic and/or artistic success. This award is made possible from an endowment set up with proceeds from posters created by UK art faculty for the 1985 NCAA tournament at Rupp Arena. As winner of this award, Doerting received a $300 cash prize.
The Kim "Kimmer" Adler Memorial Award was presented for the first time this year at the Carey Ellis Show. The award is presented in memory of art studio alumnus and sculptor who lost his life to cancer shortly after finishing his graduate studies at UK. The Adler Award was presented to Waylon Bigsby of Philadelphia, Pa., a graduate student studying sculpture at UK. Bigbsy received $300 that he can use toward expenses related to his MFA (Master of Fine Arts) show.
The UK Department of Art, at the UK College of Fine Arts, is an accredited member of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design and offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in the fields of art studio, art history and art education.
MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, (859) 257-8716 or whitney.hale@uky.edu