Artwork of two North Central College students is featured in the month long exhibit “The Long Road.”
“The Long Road” features wood sculptures, ceramics and mixed media artwork by seniors Jesse Barr of Oswego and Jeremy Thurlby of Montgomery. The exhibit runs April 8 through May 3 in the Meiley-Swallow Hall Gallery, 31 S. Ellsworth St. An artist reception will be held from 6 to 8PM Friday, April 19; complimentary refreshments will be served.
The pieces in “The Long Road” draw on both artists’ experiences working in trades. Barr previously worked in construction while Thurlby worked in blacksmithing and welding.
“As a student artist, I focus on 3D work, which I feel comes from my trades background coupled with the satisfaction of constructing something with your hands,” Thurlby said.
Barr, an art education major, graduated from Wheaton North High School in 1999 and worked for a number of years in commercial demolition and management for commercial jobsites before pursuing his passion for art in 2008 — work experiences that have contributed to his creative style.
“The goal of my art is to pass along the feelings, emotions and beauty of these environments I may come across, or people I may encounter,” Barr said. His work in the “The Long Road” draws inspiration from an 1800s farm he visited.
Thurlby, a studio art major, will exhibit his artwork at the 2013 National Conference for Undergraduate Research (NCUR) in La Crosse, Wis. He previously had his work, “Industrialization,” accepted into Monmouth College’s annual juried student art show where he received the Waltershausen Sculpture award in 2010.
A nontraditional student, Thurlby has worked a number of jobs before pursuing a college degree, including working as a living history blacksmith, a bouncer and a welder/millwright. He currently balances his classwork and working as an associate grocery buyer for Whole Foods in Naperville.
Christine Rabenold, assistant professor of art, is faculty advisor for the exhibit. For gallery hours or more information, contact Rabenold at (630) 637-5543 or cmrabenold@noctrl.edu. Art students at North Central College learn traditional and contemporary media; engage in analytical, critical and abstract thinking; and learn to communicate ideas visually. Students attend gallery and museum openings and exhibits in Naperville and Chicago, meet visiting artists, enter juried exhibitions and gain an academic foundation for graduate study in studio art, art education, art history, art therapy, arts administration, art criticism and visual communications. Visit northcentralcollege.edu/majors/art to learn more.
