Juried exhibition showcases alumni art
"Treatment" is the name of the Juried Alum Exhibition where 17 Department of Visual Arts alumni — many of whom still live in the region — show their work. The third annual alumni exhibition started Aug. 12 and runs through Sept. 19 in the Bob Owens Art Gallery in the Hoag Student Center at the University of North Georgia's (UNG) Dahlonega Campus. It was juried by Rachel Watson '14, who holds a degree in studio art with a concentration in photography.
"Treatment" invited artists to explore the layered meanings of intervention, care and transformation — both in subject and in medium.
Isabella Martino, named Best in Show winner, graduated in 2019. Her work, "Nonna Maria's Chair," evokes the way that objects can resonate with familial relationships. Martino has shown her work throughout the region, including at the Quinlan Visual Arts Center in Gainesville.
"When I found out this won Best in Show, I simply could not believe it. I called up my friends and screamed it to the world," Martino said. "It is my honor to showcase this painting at my alma mater, and I want to personally thank the juror of this exhibition, Rachel Watson, for selecting it. This is really encouraging for me because I have not attempted mixed media in this way before."
Victoria Cooke, director of art galleries at UNG, said that Martino's work "has this really deep meaning."
"It’s something Isabella really captures in her work. She's able to tap into universal emotions," Cooke said.
Martino said her mixed media piece explores the strained, matrilineal relationships between the four generations of women in her family.
"The composition here is a collage that feels like a blurry memory," Martino said. "The sewing aspect was a new challenge for me that required patience and adjustment, very similar to that of the growing pains of mother-daughter bonds."
Tom Francis, an artist friend of Martino, once told her "a portrait can be indirect," inspiring Martino to begin "Nonna Maria's Chair." The chair represents her great-grandmother Maria, Fig Tree represents her grandmother Giacomina, and her mother, Angela, is represented by the needle work.
"I remember my mom having all of her cross-stitch work framed and covering so many walls in our home when I was young. She loved it so much," Martino said. "I always admired her joy of needlework and crafting, and her creativity in general."
The painting, Martino said, is her "hope that one day we will find our way back to each other."
"Maria, Giacomina, Angela – they are women just like me — going through life for the first time, knowing what loss and love feel like. The regrets, mistakes, joy, the decisions they've made, all of it led to me, and I will always be grateful to them," Martino said. "I'm not sure how we got here, but since the three of us remain on this Earth, we owe it to Maria and to ourselves to heal."
A reception for this exhibition will be held in the Great Room of Hoag Student Center at the Dahlonega Campus at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 17. Prior to the reception, there will be an alumni panel discussion answering student questions about the transition from student to professional artist. Both Watson and Martino will be there to share their own experiences.
The exhibition can also be viewed online.
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