Award-Winning Alumni Exhibit Their Artwork at the Hop

On a hot day in Hanover, student employee Jessica Venturino ’15 keeps watch in the air-conditioned Jaffe-Friede Gallery in the Hopkins Center for the Arts.

Each week, she works a five-hour shift, monitoring the gallery, where the work of last year’s Perspectives On Design (POD) Award winners is on exhibit. Not surprisingly, she has become quite familiar with the artwork of the four recent Dartmouth graduates—Bogyi Banovich ’11, Do-Hee Kim ’12, Stuart Lantry ’12, and Emily Shaw ’12.

“I really like this one,” she says, pointing to a work by Shaw—an apparent moose antler in the shape of a swing, which hangs prominently from the ceiling. “It’s just such a cool idea. But they’re all pretty impressive.”

Visitors can get a look at the works through September 1.

The annual POD Award was established by David and Judith Collins, the parents of Paul Collins ’90. The award recognizes exceptional work by graduating studio art majors. The winners receive funding to pursue their art for a year, which culminates in the Jaffe-Friede exhibition at Dartmouth the following summer.

“The studio art department is delighted to feature the artwork of four recent graduates,” says Director of Exhibitions Gerald Auten. “Their distinct styles illustrate the variety of talented artists we have here at Dartmouth.”

As Auten notes, the exhibition displays various artistic approaches, including Lantry’s brick sculptures and spray paintings on wood; Banovich’s surrealist art with colorful plastic wrap; sculptures like Moose Swing by Shaw; and colorful prints like Kim’s Everyday Breakfast.

“The show demonstrates how different our work is. And yet, I believe that all of our work serendipitously complements each other,” says Banovich.

Banovich and Lantry spent this past year working as interns in the studio art department. In addition to assisting in classes and mentoring undergraduates, they collaborated on a few pieces for the POD exhibit, including a spray-painted stop sign entitled Signo incrementa.

“This exhibition gave me a chance to show my newest work as well as collaborate with one of my fellow artist friends,” says Banovich.

Lantry says he has enjoyed working on the exhibition. “It was incredibly fulfilling and fun to have this exhibition culminate our experience at Dartmouth,” says Lantry.