Studio Art students create and curate new work for group exhibition in Trisolini Gallery

The School of Art + Design presents “Escape the Mind,” an exhibition curated by candidates in the BFA Studio Art program, that opened Tuesday, April 5, in Ohio University’s Trisolini Gallery in the Baker University Center. The exhibition runs through April 9, with an opening reception on Thursday, April 7, from 5-7 p.m.

The exhibit features sculptures, photographs, prints and paintings by students Madelyn Bartolone, Ahnika Frogale, Kelly Aug, Winter Butts, and Naila Latham. It serves as a culmination of the collective knowledge in professional art practices they have learned so far. The exhibition also reflects a focus on topics like mental health, identity, religion, and escapism through art.

When planning for the exhibition, Bartolone thought about how her paintings could bring viewers into a different world, specifically her landscape paintings which portray western landscapes that she one day hopes to visit. They serve as a form of escape and focus on a place that is away from everyday problems and stressors.By experimenting with color and value, she has created environments with a dream-like quality which fully encapsulate the mood of the landscape.

Frogale, an Ohio-based artist who specializes in printmaking, concentrates her work on ideas of mental illness, substance abuse, and overall mental health with the hope to spread awareness of these issues.

Aug, who has always been interested in the magical and fantastical aspects of life, has documented these aspects through her practice for years now. Using photography, she recreates the feeling of searching for an answer. 

Gallery hours are Monday through Saturday noon to 4 p.m., with extended hours on Thursdays until 8 p.m.

This College of Fine Arts event is made possible through support from Arts for Ohio.