by Jiana Martin '26
The Ortlip Gallery, located in the Center of Fine Arts (CFA), will host its 36th Annual Juried Student Exhibition tonight at 6:30. The exhibit provides an opportunity for students to showcase their artwork and celebrate their accomplishments. A total of 53 pieces by 28 student artists were chosen by the jurors, Eric and Maria Holbein ‘09.
Many art mediums will be represented, including painting, drawing, ceramics, printmaking, photography, sculpture, digital illustration, digital animation and furniture design. Instead of a theme, the jurors picked pieces that represented the different styles, media and conceptual approaches. Nine awards will be handed out for outstanding artistic achievement.
Ian Campbell, the new Gallery Director, said “seeing the diversity of artistic styles and approaches that Houghton student-artists employ” has been a fun part of organizing the show. This is Campbell’s first exhibit that he has fully organized as the director. The planning process has “been a bit of a juggling act,” but Campbell received a lot of help, including that of his gallery assistants Evan Babbitt ‘25, Aria Larson ‘27 and Aubrey Armes ‘25.
Babbitt enjoyed seeing all the works submitted. “It is easy to forget that there are more than just art majors that make great work,” he commented, “so it is always surprising to see what people have been working on in and out of classes.”
In addition to being an assistant, he submitted three pieces, two abstracts and a self-portrait. He is excited for opening night and recommends people attend or at least “poke your head in to see what is up the weeks following the opening.”
Larson has two pieces in the show. It has been a slight challenge for her to balance being both an assistant and a student artist. However, she has enjoyed getting to see everyone’s work, even those that don’t make it into the exhibit.
“A lot of the pieces that people submit to the show I’ve seen in progress or caught glimpses of up in the art building, which makes it really cool to see the finished product when it gets dropped off,” Larson added.
She is looking forward to meeting the attendees because it is a great opportunity to engage with people from both the campus and the community.
“I also have to admit it’s fun to have an event that showcases our projects as art students,” Larson said, “and allows us to share our work with others.”
Armes has four pieces in the show, three of which count as one piece, making it a triptych. She enjoyed working with Professor of Art Ted Murphy to frame her pieces and is grateful for his help. On opening night, she is excited “for all the artists to see their work hung in an intentional space.”
“It is so special to be able to share your hard work with your community, and it is a privilege to be able to celebrate with everyone,” Armes said.
Along with his assistants, Campbell is excited to share all of the student artist’s work with everyone.
“Art-making is often made in isolation,” he said, “so I enjoy being able to publicly acknowledge the hard work and talent that went into the pieces on display.” ★