Five Colleges of Ohio Student Biennial Comes to The College of Wooster Art Museum

More than 50 works will be on display from Jan. 22 through Mar. 2 in Ebert Art Center

WOOSTER, Ohio — The College of Wooster Art Museum will showcase works by more than 40 young artists when it hosts The Five Colleges of Ohio Student Biennial Jan. 22 through March 2. The exhibition, which is free and open to the public, will be held in the Sussel Gallery and the Burton D. Morgan Gallery of Ebert Art Center (1220 Beall Ave.). The opening reception will be Friday, Feb. 1, from 7-9 p.m. with an awards ceremony scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

A total of 52 works by 43 students have been chosen from 181 entries, topped by “Before it Cools,” an encaustic (wax) painting by Ryan Hunter of Kenyon College, which was selected as Best of Show. In addition, six works have been tabbed to receive Juror’s Awards, including “Chair 1,” a contemporary chair by Aspen Emily Golann of Kenyon College, and “Tiny Realizations,” a painting by Nathalie VanBalen of Denison University. The other four Juror’s Award winners are from Wooster: Julia Hendrickson for her graphic narrative "On-Off," Emma Powell's tintype triptych "Used Toys Portraits," Mark Schneider's miniature wire elephant installation "voici ton elephant," and Katharine Tatum's digital collage "Dream Painting."

“The entries impressed me with some very strong traditional imagery and methods, particularly in portraiture, while also offering a spicy touch of contemporary engagements, such as the graphic novel format, idiosyncratic spatial structures, and psychological/fantasy narrative,” said Jacqueline S. Nathan, Gallery Director at Bowling Green State University who served as juror for the event. “I appreciate the honor of being invited by The College of Wooster Art Museum to review the student work in this exhibition and hope that this selection encourages and inspires both the artists and their audiences.”

The first piece to greet museum patrons in the Sussel Gallery is Hendrickson’s award-winning “On-Off,” a short graphic novel on panels about energy and conservation. “It’s exciting to be selected for this show and an honor to receive a Juror’s Award,” said the senior English and studio art double major from East Liverpool, Ohio, who also helped with the installation. “As a young artist, it is good to be in a show with my peers in a gallery context. It is a great way to learn about emerging ideas in the contemporary art world,”

Another award-winning work in the Sussel Gallery is Schneider's miniature herd of wire elephants, while Hunter’s provocative portrait can be found in the Burton D. Morgan Gallery.

The Five Colleges of Ohio, Inc., is a consortium of five liberal arts colleges in Ohio: Denison University, Kenyon College, Oberlin College, Ohio Wesleyan University, and The College of Wooster. Incorporated in 1995, the consortium is designed to foster closer cooperation and understanding, coordinate operating functions and administrative services, develop collaborative academic programs and resource sharing, and enhance quality. A variety of cross-campus collaborations have developed since the consortium’s inception, including The Five Colleges of Ohio Juried Student Biennial, which was initiated by The College of Wooster Art Museum in 2001 to provide students with an opportunity to enter a professionally juried exhibition and to experience the work of their peers.

Open to students currently enrolled in one of the Five Colleges of Ohio, artists may submit up to two works, which are then reviewed by a curator, gallery director, or artist/teacher who selects both the exhibition and the award winners. Support for this exhibition was provided, in part, by The Burton D. Morgan Foundation, Hudson, Ohio. The College of Wooster Art Museum is open Tuesday through Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 1-5 p.m. All receptions, lectures, exhibitions, and performances are free and open to the public. Group and class tours are also available. Additional information can be obtained by phone (330-263-2388) or online.

The final exhibition of the 2007-2008 academic year will be a Studio Art Faculty Group Exhibition in the Sussel Gallery from March 25 through May 11. During that same period in the Burton D. Morgan Gallery, Doug McGlumphy will exhibit his "Regular Guy Monuments" from March 25 through April 20, after which the senior studio art majors will present a group show from April 25 through May 11.