The Marion Art Center has awarded prizes to four students in the current “High School Student Art Show.” The exhibition committee based its decisions on the following: skill and technique, overall presentation, creative use of medium, written artist statement, and how closely the work aligned with the show’s prospectus, “Exploring life during and after COVID: What Comes Next?”
The first-place award went to Emma Zhou of Tabor Academy for her piece titled, “Connections or Lack Thereof.” Zhou writes, “One thing that I struggled with a lot during the pandemic has been connections and feeling disconnected from my friends and the rest of the world. I felt lonely and unable to reach out, and I showed that in this piece.”
The second-place prize went to Christopher Knight, a senior at ORR, for his pencil/color pencil drawing, “Explosive Expression.” Knight writes, “I feel that this piece represents not only the dream of a post-pandemic life, but also the chaos, uncertainty, and lack of motivation that the COVID-19 world has induced [and] the newfound consciousness of the body and the space that you are in. In this case, the head is also where many spreaders of the virus stem from. I wanted this piece to show both the primal essence of my life and of its recent conflicts.”
Third place was awarded to ORR student Autumn Tilley for her digital drawing titled, “Traversing the Static.” Tilley writes, “This drawing shows someone walking on a log over an abyss of confusion and disorder. They are on the edge of sanity trying to keep balance as they make their way across the void to a better future.”
Finally, Will Stark of ORR received the Purchase Prize award for his piece titled, “Rainbow,” a traditional half hull wood carving. Stark writes, “This depiction of the legendary J-class racing yacht … is carved to scale using measurements transferred from blueprints, then cut, scraped, and sanded down to final dimension.” This skillfully crafted wooden wall piece will be featured in the Marion Art Center’s Online Art Auction. Bidding for all items in the auction begins on July 28.
You can see all the student works in person in the MAC galleries through April 15 or view the works online at marionartcenter.org/on-exhibit.