It’s our favorite time of year in the Fine Art Department. This is when students get to publicly shine! Each year we mount our Fine Art Student Show and enjoy having an incredible exhibition and receptions for students, their family and friends along with college faculty and staff. Each year we have a juror come in and pick the artistic endeavors for the exhibition. This year, our juror is Mary Proenza.
Mary is an Associate Professor of Art at Marymount University in Arlington, VA. She earned a BA in literature at UC Santa Barbara’s College of Creative Studies, an MFA in painting at New York Studio School, and an MFA in creative writing at The New School. In 2022, she was part of an NEA Arts Project grant, creating four linoleum cut prints in collaboration with writer Jervey Tervalon, published in a letterpress book from Kalamazoo Book Arts Center. She’s currently working on a graphic memoir, which has been supported by a 2022 Mid-Atlantic Arts Fellowship at the Virginia Center for Creative Arts and by a 2020 Mednick Fellowship from the Virginia Foundation of Independent Colleges. An illustrated story from the project was published in Rosebud magazine, and she has published written reviews in Art in America and The Brooklyn Rail. Recent exhibitions include “Cladogram” at Katonah Museum of Art and “One in a Year” at the Painting Center, NYC.
As always, the students begin to congregate and enjoy all of the exceptional work and this year we have so many wonderful entries!
The students are very supportive of one another and it’s also an exciting way to meet fellow art students and see their work.
Our reception is a perfect opportunity for students to talk about their work and enjoy their pride.
Stacy Slaten, (right), our 2-D lead faculty organized the show and reached out to Mary, a decision we are all thrilled about. Mary is not only a wonderful artist she also holds a lot of experience with jurying shows and working with students, over at Marymount University.
Family and friends began to arrive and soon we have a wonderful gathering for our awards ceremony! Mary was kind enough to point out that every student who made it in is exceptionally talented and that the works here are very strong.
We had multiple awards to bestow. Rory Rossenbaum received an honorable mention for her beautiful portrait.
Rory’s drawing emits a delicate elegance. Her lighter values and tonal range take advantage of the value of the paper itself.
Kira Wharton was given an honorable mention for her “Armchair” drawing.
Mary loved the warmth and welcoming character of this room. It really feels like home. The fabric of the chair is soft and begs the viewer to sit.
Caroline Haggerty received an honorable mention for her 3-D vase, “Vase Gogh.”
A phenomenal pun, and full visual play on words, “Vase Gogh” brings together the physicality of the vase and her wonderfully energetic surface painting, inspired by Van Gogh. The additional 3-d flower pulls in Van Gogh love of flowers and fully incorporates his starry night pallet.
Ibtisam Shuaib received her honorable mention for “The Writers Block.”
“The Writer’s Block,” shows the grappling between the pen in hand and the blank page. Something most of us can relate to.
Soon came time to announce the top three winners of this year’s show.
And now for our top three winners of this years Fine Art Student Show… drum roll please…
Our third place winner this year is Kiara Quinto, for her wonderfully colorful work, “Skull and Kermit”
Mary was kind enough to discuss Kiara’s mastery of color and the delicacy of her technique.
The layering of overlapping colorful strokes allows this work to glow. It’s a fun combination of elements that one would not usually see together. Somehow Kiara makes the skull and kermit appear as friends.
Our second place winner is Miguel Vargas.
Mary explained, how much she enjoys Migues’ self portrait “Painstaking Joy,” The title and drawing perfectly express the creative experience.
The flying clocks represent, just how much time it takes to do a drawing well and Miguel’s focus to his pencil expresses his love of creative tenacity as painstaking joy.
Our final and 1st place winner is Jennifer Wessmiller. Her 3-D sculpture titled “Grief.” powerfully describes the multifaceted experience of grieving.
Mary was moved by the analogy of a tree and how each limb and leaf represents the variety of different feelings that one traverses during the process of grieving. We grow through grief and we change from it. This work shows great depth of communication and comprehension of the grieving process. It’s poignant and full of journey, both for her and the viewer. We read through each worded petal.
The 2024 Fine Art Student Show Reception at the AFA Gallery on the Alexandria Campus of Northern Virginia Community College. Photo by Britt Conley. February 21, 2024After the ceremony students had the pleasure of meeting with Mary and asking her questions.
Families proudly gathered together for photos and students enjoyed their night of shinning. They deserve feeling the pride of doing great work.
Many had the opportunity to discuss their work and the journey of creating it.
Learning that ones creative endeavors are appreciated and impactful for others is always a thrill. Finding out you’ve won recognition is icing on the cake.
As always, its a night to remember and the first of many more art openings for our budding artists!
Our NOVA students are talented, smart and on their way to great futures.
Nick Spencer, one of our graphics faculty enjoyed meeting with Mary as well. Many of our students are shared between Fine Art and Graphic Design. Stacy Slaten, (center), is thrilled with how well the show is going and how exciting it’s been for the students. A well deserved moment after months of hard work to make this night possible.
The students love it.
This show also brought the opportunity for students to learn how to mat and frame their work. Many of them are planning to do more and enter those works in more exhibitions.
Our students accomplished a great deal between getting through all of their classes and propelling their artistic processes along the way. These things take time and are incredibly rewarding.
Watching our students creative efforts is always exciting. We can’t wait to hear about their next shows! Now that they can mat and frame, they can begin to show their art in new venues.
The 2024 Fine Art Student Show Reception at the AFA Gallery on the Alexandria Campus of Northern Virginia Community College. Photo by Britt Conley. February 21, 2024A wonderful time was had by all!
A special thanks to all of the families and friends who came to support our amazingly talented students and honor their achievements! A big round of applause to all who made it into this year’s show!
And special thanks to Mary Proenza for all of her time, wonderful choices and for taking the time to talk about each student winner’s work! It’s a joy to work with her and to see a great juror in action!
Also thanks to Professor Stacy Slaten, our 2-D Fine Arts lead faculty for organizing and heading the show! Stacy is thrilled to have worked with many of the students and to see everyone’s creativity! She wanted everyone to know that, “seeing your artwork polished and displayed beautifully is a joy as well as bearing witness to the growth and achievement of the past year, culminating in this annual exhibition. It is also a pleasure to see your friends, family, and peers come together to likewise celebrate this accomplishment”