Gold Award | Amanda Beller
I graduated in 2005 with a BS in Interior Design and a BA in Art Education. As a double art major, I had many opportunities to study different facets of art, art theory, art history, and a variety of practices.
I am so thankful for the wide variety of courses and experiences I was able to have as a student in Harding's Art Department. I currently teach Studio Drawing & Painting courses for 10th-12th grades, as well as AP Art History. I incorporate what I learned at Harding every single day.
The biggest, most important skills I developed in Harding's art programs were critical thinking and problem solving, which has impacted not just my career, but also my work as an artist and my life as an individual.
My current body of work explores the ideas of nostalgia and americana. I am especially drawn towards architecture (thanks for all the perspective lessons, Dr Keller!) and found materials. I typically paint on wood, and begin by creating collages of found materials, mostly from the past. I oil paint on top of the collages, and I love to try to get all of the tiny details. I hope to capture the essence of a place...I am drawn to old siding, peeling paint on concrete, power lines, flora. I hope you enjoy my work!
My art insta is @amandabellerart
Gold Award | Amanda Beller
Hannah Chicago, 18 x 20 inches
Silver Award | Thomas Coffey
I am a painter and educator living and working in Fayetteville, Arkansas. I have exhibited my work nationally throughout Arkansas, California, Oregon, and Washington.
Last summer, in August of 2019, I had the good fortune to be invited to participate in a residency and exhibition at Studio Kura, in Itoshima, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.
I have taught for several years in the University of Arkansas School of Art's Foundations program, and am currently working as a studio assistant to George Dombek.
Silver Award | Thomas Coffey
Fall, 144 x 96 inches
About the work : This piece is from my recent MFA thesis exhibition, The Branch on Which the Blossom Hangs. The title of this exhibition comes from the Dave Hickey essay "Pontormo's Rainbow," which advocates for the experiential nature of color as a reprieve from language.
I chose this name because this body of work addresses the relationship between landscape or physical presence and the primary experiences of emotion and perception. They express a sense of dislocation and question how an individual relates to their environment - I'm interested in things which live in this vulnerable state between connection and disconnection, or familiarity and specificity. This fluctuating in-between state is a direct corollary to my mental health and emotional experience.
By using the recognizable visual language of landscape, abstracted to the point of familiarity if not identifiability, and scale that shifts between the massive and encompassing or small and quiet, the works envelop the viewer in a space in which they cannot comfortably situate themselves. This elusive quality is vital - to accurately express these fluctuating states, they must balance a sense of both distance and belonging.
Silver Award | Brandon Rickett
Brandon was born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas. As an artist, he is inspired by rural American landscapes, particularly those in and around his home region. His work explores themes of memory, decay and sense of place, often drawing on imagery of overgrown landscapes, dilapidated buildings or cemeteries.
Brandon is the curator at the A.R. Mitchell Museum of Western Art in Trinidad, Colorado. He received an MA in Curating and Collections from the University of the Arts London in 2019, during which time he was the exhibition coordinator and co-curator of OBSERVER: John Latham and the Distant Perspective (2019) at Chelsea Space.
Silver Award | Brandon Rickett
Louise's Beauty Shop, 16 x 20 inches
I passed by this building many times during the four years I lived in Searcy. This piece, like a lot of my work, explores the ideas of memory, time and a sense of place through the haunting landscapes and structures of the American South.
Bronze Award | Angela Decamp
Angela DeCamp grew up in a standard middle class Indianapolis suburb. She spent most of her childhood sketching pictures of all of her various crushes in her very private journal.
Professionally, Angela's art training began with Herron School of Art and Design's Saturday School program. She then went on to receive her Bachelors of Fine Art from Harding University.
Angela currently lives in Indianapolis and continues to create and show art locally. You can keep up to date on her latest work and upcoming shows at www.angeladecamp.com. When she’s not in her studio, you might catch her cycling on the Indianapolis Cultural Trail or playing with her cat, Athena.
Bronze Award | Angela DeCamp
New South Wales, 8 x 10 inches
Honorable Mentions
Honorable Mention | Kelly Ward
Java Cabana, 22” x 28"
I graduated from Harding University in 1994 with a Master of Education in Art. After graduation, I taught art formally and informally while raising four amazing daughters. After years of exploration, I think I have finally found and am continuing to develop my own style of artwork. I am currently working in the Advancement Office at Harding School of Theology in Memphis.
Honorable Mention | Amanda Beller
Jacksonville, Texas, 26” x 26”
My art insta is @amandabellerart