The Artists

Part of the pleasure of finding artists for the show this year was to go outside my personal circle, and to look for artists that I knew little or nothing about before I found them, a true call for work. Grad school has a way of being self imposed solitary confinement, and its easy to become unaware of what is going on in other art schools and other art circles even within the region that you live. Without casting too wide of a net, and with the help of a friend, I was pleasantly surprised and happy with the artists that I found. We all seem to share an appreciation for the observed world in our work, but its great to see how differently that simple statement can be interpreted.
-Alan Rushing

Alan Rushing


Stacy Mohammed


Kate Gartrell


Nate Risteen

The Artists

David Horton and Martina Nikova met as undergraduate students at the Columbus College of Art and Design, and a few years later they were introduced to Nishiki Tayui at the Indiana University. Aside of sharing many great life experiences they also share a strong commitment to painting. However, their artistic needs are certainly different. Nishiki’s paintings are often abstract. She is originally from Japan and in her work she combines Eastern and Western traditions in attempt to unify her own personal and artistic influences. David’s work, on the other hand, is based on a heavily representational foundation. Traveling is a strong catalyst for his artmaking and he sees his work as a meditation of such experiences. Martina was born in Bulgaria and her work revolves around the word “alien”. Through the use of humor she hopes to undermine the power of such terms and to make the topic of immigration more approachable.
-Martina Nakova

Martina Nakova


David Horton


Nishiki Tayui