“Stomp,” a video documentary of a performance by Kyle Wood, won Best in Show.
“Epiphenomenon” by Adam Kirby.
“PersonalVictory #217” by Maggie Paden.IF YOU GO* What: Juried Student Art Exhibition.* Where: Cress Gallery, UTC Fine Arts Building, corner of Vine and Palmetto streets.* When: Daily through Jan. 27.* Gallery hours: 9:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Monday-Friday; 1-4 p.m. Saturday-Sunday.* Admission: Free.* Phone: 425-4371.* Website: www.cressgallery.org.HONOREES* Best in Show – Kyle Wood, “Stomp,” video documentation of performance piece.* First Place Overall – Maggie Paden, “Personal Victory #217,” paint and plaster on wood and wire armature.* Second Place Overall – Claire Bloomfield, “Tea and Ink,” video transferred to DVD.* Third Place Overall – Travis Hitchcock, “America the Beautiful,” digital output on various papers.* Award of Merit – Dolores Hoffman, “Trap #1,” sticks, mirror and fishing line.* Award of Merit – Adam Kirby, “Untitled,” clay.* Award of Merit – Angel Renta, “Abandoned Sculptures,” color photographs.* Award of Merit – Danielle Anderson, “The Illusionist,” wood, paint and mirrors.* Curator’s Award – Keren Beddoe, “Untitled,” suite of four related video performances transferred to DVD.* Curator’s Honorable Mention – Corinne Atamaniuk, “Isolation (Narrative),” oil on paper.* Curator’s Honorable Mention – Brooke Craig, “Untitled Independent Project,” film-based photography.
Ruth Glover has curated the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s Cress Gallery for about 15 years and, as she sifts every December through the submissions to the annual student art exhibition, she’s consistently taken aback by the strength of the art program.
“I have seen this steady growth of students just being much more professional about their studies and taking a really professional view of what they’re doing,” Glover says.
And this year’s exhibition, which opened Tuesday, raised the bar yet again. The 60 works now on display in the 1,600-square-foot gallery are “the strongest” she’s ever seen.
“The willingness of our students to take risks and find success affected me,” Glover says. “It’s as strong as anything you’d see in New York City. It’s really, really wonderful work.”