First-year graduate students will have the opportunity to put their talents on display in a showcase hosted by the Ohio State Department of Art this month. The students are enrolled in the department’s Master of Fine Arts program and will display work in seven areas of study.
The exhibition, Recent Arrivals, is held annually in gallery space at Hopkins Hall to display art by the program’s first-year students.
Prudence Gill, director of the Hopkins Hall Gallery and Corridor, said moving into a new environment is an exciting time for the young artists.
“This is the first opportunity to show their work,” she said. “It’s a combination of excitement and nerves and interest in what others are doing.”
Student projects include traditional mediums such as ceramics, sculpture, painting and drawing, as well as newer fields such as photography and art and technology.
Ken Rinaldo, associate professor and director of the art and technology program, said his students focus primarily on work with computers.
“The computer is the tool that can morph into any tool,” Rinaldo said. “It is the art of the future.”
There are 37 pieces in the exhibit and all work was completed during fall quarter, Gill said.
Zachary Podgorny, a first-year master’s student who contributed three paintings to the exhibit, said that memories and observations inspired his work.
“I feel really good talking to people, having them ask questions about my work,” he said.
Podgorny said he was drawn to Ohio State because of its facilities and its faculty, and he is interested in continuing to paint and possibly teach art at a university.
Brooke Hunter-Lombardi, a first-year master’s student who contributed a piece to the exhibit, said she is considering working in art education.
“I’m interested in community arts teaching and professional development for art teachers,” she said. “The vision of our program area is to give us the tools to produce our own art and to possibly teach art at a college level.”
Students who contributed art to the exhibition have the added benefit of gathering reactions to their work, said Amy Youngs, chair of graduate studies in the department.
“This is an opportunity to show their recent research,” she said. “They often will get feedback from faculty members.”
Youngs said first-year students are also in the process of selecting faculty to review their second-year portfolios and that this exhibition gives them an opportunity to interact with faculty who will judge their work in the future.
Perhaps most importantly for the students, this exhibition offers an early opportunity to display their personalities as artists.
“I hope to connect to people, to see how people react to my work,” Podgorny said. “This is a really great forum to communicate.”
“Recent Arrivals” is located in the Hopkins Hall Gallery and Corridor and runs through Feb. 3. It is open to the public weekly from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday through Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday.
