Art & Design alumni are showcasing their artwork throughout February in the Fine Art Center’s University Gallery.
The Quadrennial Alumni Exhibition includes entries from 80 artists with various degrees, such as animation, art education, art history, graphic design and studio art. The works use diverse mediums, including ceramics, digital, drawing, fiber arts, graphic design, painting, printmaking, sculpture and quilting.
“Our goal is to really represent the range of disciplines that we offer through the WKU Department of Art & Design, and also the different experiences that each person has found throughout the years in sustaining their practice,” said Yvonne Petkus, a professor of art and one of the exhibition’s coordinators.
The exhibition is on the building’s second floor, and is open to the public from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Allison Clark, a sophomore marketing major, explored the gallery during her free time.
“I think it’s a good break in between your day just to come and relieve your mind,” Clark said.
This is the Art & Design Department’s second time hosting the event –the first occasion being in 2022. The event has shifted to a “quadrennial” held every four years.
Kentucky Museum exhibit preparators Charles Hurst and Elizabeth Jones curated the exhibit to fit and fill the University Gallery’s space.
Both 2D and 3D pieces are displayed with an informational card listing the artist’s name, piece’s title, medium used, year of creation, artist’s year of graduation and artist’s graduating degree.
“I think it’s just neat how they picked specific pieces that are tied to Bowling Green,” Clark said.
Petkus, along with the WKU Alumni Association, contacted interested alums who submitted one piece each. Participating graduates responded from U.S. states and foreign countries, including Iceland.
“They had the choice to submit, and it’s not juried or anything,” Petkus said. “We want them to be here.”
“It’s called a discipline because it takes work and commitment and sacrifice,” Petkus said. “What we’re doing here is celebrating that work, that commitment, and the varied paths that each of our graduates have taken.”
A closing reception of the exhibition will be on March 1 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. The reception is open to the public, where alumni artists will be in attendance.
News Reporter Natalie Freidhof can be reached at [email protected].
