Lifestyles

Alumni return to showcase mixed media art

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The newest exhibit in the art gallery features seven graduates from John Brown University’s Visual Art Department. This exhibit opened Oct. 2, titled “JBU Alumni Invitational Exhibit.”

The artists included in the exhibit are Kyle Armstrong, Kyle Blair, Jason Flack, John Springs, Natalie K. Nelson, Jeremy Grant and John Holcomb. The artists have all recently graduated from the University. Charles Peer, University art gallery Director, said, “This group of seven wonderful artists is a good representation of the quality and variety of work that our graduates are having in the world at large.”

“Their work has been shown in well-respected galleries, published in national magazines and comic books, used in popular electronic games and assisted in mission efforts,” Peer said.

Unique to the descriptions on the artwork, a majority of them gave credit to Joel Armstrong, University art and illustration professor. The artists wrote little blurbs about themselves and how it was a great opportunity working and studying under Armstrong.

“I appreciated all the artists sharing their memories of their time at JBU, in addition to their work,” Sarah White, senior education major, said. “It gave a glimpse of their time at JBU.”

The artists used a variety of media for their artwork. Some were paintings with mixed media, acrylic and oil pastels drawn on top. There were also collages made with bits of paper, handmade paper and an image that was manipulated. Resin, a hard plastic, is also used. Others used silk screens.

Peer enjoys putting on the alumni show every once in a while. The exhibit’s goal is to show off what the alumni have accomplished since they graduated. Normally they are an open-call type of invitation, where any graduate can send any piece of work. This is the first time it has been a closed-invitation event.

It was not an easy task choosing which artists to invite for the exhibit in the gallery.

“We have had so many students who have gone out into the world using their creative gifts and having significant impact in their chosen fields,” Peer said. “This is an exciting collection of work, and we are proud of the accomplishments and recognitions these graduates have received for their creative professional work.”

“I enjoyed the Alumni art gallery because of the colorful, creative, and full of life vibe to it,” Carlos Lopez, senior business administration and marketing major said.“A lot of the illustrations depicted retro cartoon characters, which I thought was really cool. I was impressed by the quality of the artworks that were showcased.”

The exhibit will be open until Oct. 30. The gallery is free and open to everyone from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. On Sundays the gallery is open 2 p.m. through 4 p.m.

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