Dowd Gallery presents Student Select 2022

04/26/2022 

Student Select 2022, an exhibition featuring artwork created by 30 SUNY Cortland students, runs through Saturday, May 14, in the Dowd Gallery of the Dowd Fine Arts Center.

“The work that was selected demonstrated successful use of their media to convey a message beyond the literal through a variety of strategies,” said Jack Elliott, the professional artist invited to be this year’s juror by the student-run Art Exhibition Association, which organized and sponsored the exhibition.

This year’s exhibition, which opened on Monday, April 25, will feature an opening reception and awards ceremony from 4:30 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 26, in the Dowd Gallery.

Organized and sponsored by the Art Exhibition Association, the event also will include faculty and staff from the Art and Art History Department and Elliott. Refreshments will be served by Cortland Auxiliary Services and M&D Deli and prizes awarded by the Art Exhibition Association.

Gallery hours, in Dowd Center located on the corner of Graham Avenue and Prospect Terrace, are from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays; and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursdays. Walk-ins are welcome.

The exhibition will remain accessible on graduation day, May 14, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Elliott, a practicing artist and associate professor in the Design and Environmental Analysis Department of Cornell University’s College of Human Ecology. He had his own work featured last fall in a solo exhibition at Dowd Gallery.

On April 20, Elliott selected 63 works from 30 artists representing ceramics, digital illustration, drawing, painting, photography, printmaking, fibers, graphic design, sculpture and video.

After careful consideration, the guest juror chose three students as winners of the Student Select 2022 exhibition. Two Honorable Mentions also were selected.

• The First Prize went to a junior Alyssa Cusimano, a BFA/studio art major, for her oil painting titled “Burned Out.” Elliott chose the piece for its exceptional depiction of mental and physical exhaustion as a commentary on the general psychological state after COVID-19 for students and the general public.
• Senior mathematics major Julia Darling was awarded Second Prize for her sculptural interpretation of a teapot constructed in stoneware clay, titled “Watering.” The object was selected for its spatial qualities with architectural details and overall composition. “Its cubist repetition of rectangular forms gives it an energy and strength that transcends its utilitarian value,” Elliott added.
• Brianna Cancilla, a senior majoring in graphic design, took Third Prize with a digital collage, “Blinded Youth.” Elliott noted the student “used a surrealist photomontage to express a sense of uncertainty in the face of exuberance and promise.”
• Honorable Mentions, selected by Dowd Gallery director Jaroslava Prihodova, went to two students for dedication to their artistic practice and producing consistently strong work. Jacob Robinson, a senior BFA student with a dual concentration in studio art and new communication media, and Angela Tillapaugh, a non-traditional junior graphic design student.

The students whose works also are featured in this year’s Student Select 2022 exhibition are:

• Vanessa Leon Basurto
• Sherron Brown
• Lily Byrne
• Emily Camp
• Gabriel Carraher
• Nina Carnazza
• Katherine De Marinis
• Shannon Delaney
• Sierra Dell
• Natalie Dokic
• Emma Fryer
• Dana Garrison
• Sophia Genao
• Sarah Goldberg
• Ella Gorrell
• Megan Hall
• Shannon Hayes
• Douglas Keating
• Katherine Kressner
• Katherine Miller
• Tatiana Patrone
• Anna Schrauth
• Cesilia Tucker
• Ariele Vance
• Noah White

The annual exhibition, historically presented in the Dowd Gallery, offers participants an opportunity to learn about formal presentation while sharing their creations with the campus community in a gallery setting, Prihodova said.

“The Dowd Gallery is delighted to host a fully accessible showcase of student art produced from across disciplines and majors after a couple of previous renditions affected by the global pandemic,” she said.

“Across campus, students come together from other majors and concentrations to show tangible outcomes not only from art and design-focused classes but also from students’ own personal creative activities outside of classrooms,” she said.

For more information, to inquire about an appointment, tour or additional images, contact Prihodova at 607-753-4216. Visit the Dowd Gallery website for details about exhibiting artists, other programs, safety protocols or group visits.