Emerging Artists

Summerfair Cincinnati hosted its annual Emerging Artist Exhibition February 5 – 21. The juried exhibition featured 54 pieces of artwork by 13 local art students from five area colleges and universities. (See photo below.)

Approximately 200 local arts patrons, family, friends and professors attended the Artists’ Opening Reception on Friday, February 12. “This exhibition is designed help introduce young artists to members of the community and provide them with an opportunity to interact with other artists in our area,” said Dianne Hight, Vice President Special Events for Summerfair Cincinnati. “It was great to see everyone come together to support our emerging artists and see the talent that is coming out of our local colleges and universities.”

One particular artist, Ryan Fields from NKU, caught the eye of Sylvia Rombis, owner of the Malton Gallery in Hyde Park. After seeing his work in the Emerging Artist Exhibition, Rombis invited Fields to exhibit his 3D sculptures along with a local 2D artist in an upcoming show at the Malton Gallery.

This year was the first time the Emerging Artist Exhibition introduced a professional practice component into the overall experience for the students. “This show represented many firsts for Summerfair Cincinnati,” said Sharon Strubbe, Executive Director of Summerfair Cincinnati. “We not only combined a professional practice workshop presented by Malton Gallery owner Sylvia Rombis with networking opportunities for the group, but we also had one of our own artists selected for a gallery exhibition. We are impressed with the level of work submitted this year and we hope that the program continues to grow for years to come.”

Professors who nominated their students for this exhibit were equally impressed with the quality of artwork presented at this year’s show. “The Opening Reception was just delightful and every student's work was handsomely displayed,” said Dr. Sharon Kesterson Bollen, professor of art at The College of Mt. St. Joseph. This exhibit is a wonderful gift to these hard-working and often over-looked student artists.”

The names of the artist are shown below, starting from the bottom of the staircase and going up.