Wisconsin Union Directorate Art is almost 100 years into its presentation of their student art show, a showcase that exclusively features student artwork.
The 92nd Annual Juried Student Art Show began in 1925 and is currently facilitated by the Wisconsin Union Art Collection and Art Program. It allows University of Wisconsin students to submit their art to a competitive exhibition and gain exposure in the professional world.
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WUD Art Committee chose the Memorial Union’s Main Gallery and Class of 1925 Gallery to showcase the winning pieces, mainly due to their central location in the UW community.
People can easily access the artwork and even purchase those they want. Many pieces have been purchased — and for thousands of dollars at that. The entire gallery provides art and non-art students a chance to showcase, network and even profit over the artwork they create.
To submit pieces, WUD Art markets its application through social media with a strict due date at the end of December. Artists are encouraged to submit any type of media that fits the guideline criteria, and the limit is three works per artist.
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The winning pieces are displayed in the exhibition, and while the gallery makes 20% commission for each piece sold, students pocket whatever else is made from the art. Students are required to price their work at the time of submission, and along with purchases, they can earn awards for Best of Show and Committee Choice awards.
WUD Art awarded Yuheng Chen’s “In Place of the Spire” the Committee Choice Award and Ben Sharp’s “Untitled Spatial Reflection” Best in Show.
These works and others that inhabit the gallery reflect varied dimensions. Most use multiple mediums under realist, graffiti and post-modernistic definitions. In that sense, the paintings and works displayed had a lot of red and flashier colors. Isabel Monti’s “Don’t Mind Me Just Air Drying My Delicates,” utilizes neon lights to make hanging laundry shapes.
Isabel Monti’s “Don’t Mind Me Just Air Drying My Delicates”
All in all, the student displays are multimedia reflections of the timeless world we live in. The internet seems to give us every time period at our fingertips, and the exhibition reflects the pros and cons of that fact.
As a pro, Monti’s piece can show the open nature of sexuality in our society. As a con, Quanda Johnson’s “The Ballad of Anthony Crawford” reminds us of the violent history of racism and how it lingers in our present life.
Quanda Johnson’s “The Ballad of Anthony Crawford”
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Aside from interpretations, this year’s exhibit is a beautiful tribute to the artistic vision of the UW. The 92nd Annual Student Art Show is open daily from Mar. 2 to April 3, and for more information, visit the WUD Art page on the Wisconsin Union’s webpage.
Be sure to check out these original and engaging artworks of talented UW students.
