Gallery • 15 Photos

When student Alex Hohnsen accepted her admittance to Butler University, she never imagined that she’d be back home attending the College of DuPage. Her decision to leave after one year spawned from many obstacles, but she quickly discovered her heart was not in her business degree, but instead in a deep seated passion that lay dormant for too long: her art.

“I was unhappy, unmotivated, and knew I had to change,” said Hohnsen. “It was an extremely difficult decision and adjustment. It took looking at what was happening and having the courage to ask for something different. I have always been creative and artistic minded, but I have not embraced that until recently.”

Hohnsen dived head first into her artistic side, enrolling in art history, drawing II and lithography. To cap off the end of her year of exploration, Hohnsen submitted one of her lithography pieces, “Anger Pt. 1”to the annual juried student art gallery, held in the Cleve Carney Gallery.

The gallery is open to the public until May 20. This year, Sarah McEneaney, a Philadelphia based artist with works presented in the Locks Gallery and Tibor Nagy gallery in New York City, juried the works.

Being accepted into the show meant much more for Hohnsen who always found herself drawn to art, but had accepted early on it would not be a realistic career choice. Now on the path to becoming an art director, “Anger Pt. 1” being accepted was a symbol of her accomplishments and an ode to the faculty who helped her develop her skills.

“My teachers have helped me in innumerable ways,” said Hohnsen. “They took my questions and talked about their path and were honest and encouraging. Everyone of the teachers I have had were inspiring, hardworking, and valuable resources. All in their own ways too, the beauty of art is that it encourages unity and individuality. No two people are the same, nor two pieces of art.”

A lithography print, “Anger Pt. 1” presents itself as a manifestation of the emotion itself. An almost geometric, thick setting opens up to welcome smaller linework chaotically forcing itself inside. Brushes of red hide behind the black, contrasting the composition.

“Emotions tie us to one another and life itself,” explained Hohnsen. “The intense lines of strong black with red coming through made me think of anger, and how we can hide it at times. Pt. 2 was an all red version of the black lines and side by side as they were when I named them they looked like a progression. Ultimately the question I wanted to ask was about emotion and how do we hide it and why?”

Best of show went to Erin Fitzpatrick with her work, “Rebirth” and “Reprise.” Elizabeth Thies took first place in 3-D art with “All Loved Up.” First for 2-D work was “Down a Dark Path,” by Elyse Warnecke.

Other notable works include Marge Dady’s 3-D work, “Sit Down and Have a Cuppa.” Made from a wooden chair, fabric, crochet, found objects, and other accessories. All spawning from a once simple wooden chair, whimsical porcelain tea sets cover each surface making the piece reminiscent of Alice and her mad tea party. Crocheted flowers cover the chair along with buttons, marbles, books and figurines.

The gallery features work from all mediums: acrylic, ink, charcoal, collage, photographs and includes ceramic art from Tyler Yocum, Meghan Koegel and Kenneth Jacobs.

“It is important to surround yourself with people that are passionate,” said Hohnsen, on the topic of her final lesson learned. “Maybe those passions are different from yours but ultimately the shared ambition is what makes the difference. I think about how selfish it is to want to do art or something creative, but it comes down to a simple question: Who am I and who do I want to be? And that may change and that is fine, but having the kind of people there to lean on, encourage you, and show up to your art show, they are the ones that will continue to understand and support who I am and who I want to be. Whatever that is. Point being, we never truly do anything all on our own.”

For a full list of awardees, visit clevecarneygallery.org