What a great turnout for the 9th annual Ohio All Media opening reception
on Sunday July 26th !
The Coburn Gallery at Ashland University has released the awards for the Ohio All Media Juried Exhibition and Mansfield native Ken Arthur’s assemblage sculpture, titled “The Conversations We Never Had,” has received Best of Show.
Arthur is a Mansfield native whose combined passions for collecting and art has created unusual necklaces and unique assemblage sculptures. The tower-like assemblages are made using found objects and fragments of buildings, tools and machines selected for their form and color.
Other works of his include outdoor installations with natural materials and collaborations with other artists. Arthur has created and curated exhibitions including "Mask, Not Mask," a comparison of African masks and found objects, and "Art and Industry," an exhibition honoring Mansfield's Bicentennial.
The following artists received merit awards at the exhibition, which runs from July 26 through Sept. 4 at the Coburn Gallery: Chrissy Deiger’s photography titled “Conflation Series Number 6,” Joshua Risner’s acrylic painting altarpiece titled “Speaking of Faith,” and Jessica Maloney’s digital transfer print “Atmosphere 1.”
Deiger , from Toledo, Ohio, defines her work as an experiment of poetic exploration. The spiritual self, nature, and the subconscious are resonating themes in her work. Deiger's aesthetic involves working only with available light, using slow shutter speeds and she often experiments with extreme exposures. In most cases, her images do not involve a center subject, rather she seeks a comprehensive view as to what creates the spirit and character of different places, and aims to illuminate how these are often indistinguishable from our own. To emit more depth and texture to her images, she also often transfers them onto various surfaces such as wood and paper. Deiger received her bachelor of arts from Kenyon College, in both anthropology and environmental studies. She later pursued a master’s in teaching from Pacific University in Oregon. Following numerous photography classes during her college career, she has worked with many photographic professionals at both the Anderson Ranch in Colorado, and at the Ansel Adams Gallery in Yosemite National Park.
An Ashland University student, Risner has worked as a sign painter, graphic designer, illustrator and creative director. To Risner, the value of painting is in the substance and craftsmanship it requires and its ability to invoke an extrasensory experience for the viewer. In order to develop his skills as an artist, he is currently pursuing his bachelor of fine arts degree at Ashland University.
Ashland resident Maloney received her bachelor of fine arts degree in fine art photography and her master of fine arts degree in digital arts from Bowling Green State University. She is currently an assistant professor in Digital Art at Ashland University and also holds the position of SpaceTime Student Traveling Exhibition Curator for an international student exhibition for ACM Siggraph. Her awards in 2009 include: Director's Selection Award from the Center of Fine Art Photography in Fort Collins, Colo., Juror's Award from the FAVA Art Gallery in Oberlin, Ohio; and the Sid Yellen Award for Photography from the Mansfield Art Center in Mansfield. Her work has also been shown this year both nationally and internationally at venues including, Pixel Fusion Exhibition at Pibulsongkram Rajabhat University in Thailand; Spaces Gallery Members Show in Cleveland; Art Dwellers Show at the Sin Factory in Cleveland; and at the Red Dot Members Exhibition at University Hospitals in Cleveland. Her work can be found online at www.jessicamaloney.com.
There were three juror mention awards: Gwyn Rohrer’s “What We’re Made Of “a digital print, Yvonne Bakale’s collage titled “Chance Encounter” and Ashland University Associate Professor Keith Dull’s color reduction print titled “Soliatarie Boogie: Size Matters.”
The Coburn Gallery is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information about the 2009 Ohio All Media Juried Art exhibition at Coburn Gallery and the opening reception, visit www.ashland.edu/coburngallery. The Ohio All Media exhibition closes on Sept. 4, 2009.
