Kinetic hosts competitive student work

The Student Art Association's Annual Fall Juried Exhibit took over the Kinetic Gallery this weekend, showcasing some of Geneseo's best student artwork.

Jeffery Swift, an artist and designer from Brooklyn who has worked for Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein, judged the show. Of the three pieces that Geneseo artists were asked to submit, Swift decided what was included in the show before choosing winners from the selected pieces.

Senior Megan Cortese's piece, a chaotic graphite drawing titled "The Multiple Perspectives of Multiple Perspectives," took first place. The drawing, which seems to be an ironic commentary on voyeurism as well as a challenge to see new perspectives, features several overweight swimsuit models and photographers, one of which has a camera trained on the viewer of the artwork.

In second place was a compelling two-part piece by senior Minerva Campbell, called "This is not my Father." A bald man's bust plastered with crossword puzzles is backed by a massive portrait of the same man, literally drawn with the name "Peter Campbell" in vigorous ink strokes.

Third place went to senior Katrina Fierle for her two playful watercolor pieces, "Temptation" and "Groucho." Senior Yuki Kawae took honorable mention with his intriguing mixed media piece, "Organized Chaos: Texture Experiment."

An emotive print titled "Street Rage" by senior Jim Hearne boldly depicts its subject in red and dark gray. Beside it, an eerie DigiScreen print by senior Abby Mayer called "Wailing Wood II" layers a filmy portrait with mystique-laden woods.

The only encaustic, or wax-painted, piece in the show is senior Alyssa D'Anna's four-tiled, black-framed, "Retreat," which juxtaposes leaf pressings with a vigorously etched face.

Junior Mike Fowler contributed two photographs, both in black and white, with compelling compositions and strong movements, while freshman Patrick Brophy collaged together X-Men comic cutouts to create the visually thrilling piece, "Uncanny."

Senior Kate Cragg submitted two watercolor pieces, one of which combines cultures by featuring a nude Athenian kissing the Hindu deity Krishna.

An especially striking piece featured is senior Jennifer Tayne's "Hell," a colored pencil portrait with fascinating and unexpected color choices. The hair alone contains pencil strokes ranging from pink to green, and black streaks and bird silhouettes decorate the foreground.

In the three-dimensional realm resides senior Michele Malkovsky's massive, windmill-like sculpture, "Cacophony of Balance," constructed from metal, mirrors and glass.

Each piece in the show was clearly created with respectable skill and commendable precision by the students who crafted them. The wide variety of mediums and styles from sculpture to digital media on display in the Union's Kinetic Gallery will be up until Thanksgiving.