The winners of Penn State Abington’s Bertha Lear Art Exhibition, an annual student art show, were announced at the awards reception on April 8 in the Woodland Library. The works in this exhibition represent a wide range of study--from students enrolled in general education courses to students majoring in art and integrative arts. According to Bonnie Levinthal, associate professor of art and integrative arts and a judge for the highly competitive art show, the winners were chosen because their “work exhibits outstanding merit in their genre; these works went beyond the classroom assignments and delved into more personal investigations of medium and meaning.”
The coveted Bertha Lear Purchase Award for Best in Show went to Noel Szczur, senior, integrative arts, for her untitled acrylic landscape painting. According to Levinthal, Szczur’s painting “reflects a gentle, sensitive, intuitive response to the natural world.” Szczur received $250 for the top prize in the show.
The award for Best Media Arts and Design went to Kelly White for her mixed media print titled “Botanical.” White was recently accepted to the art degree program at Abington and will be a painting and drawing major next year. Her prize was $100.
Robin Lada, a sculpture major entering her junior year at Abington, received the Bertha Lear award for Best Three Dimensional Work. Her sculpture, titled “Dreamer,” is made of clay, paint, glass, wood, feathers, and wax. Lada received a $100 prize.
The award for Best Two Dimensional Work was received by Jillian Brooks, senior art major, for her mixed media print titled “A Day in the Life.” Brooks also won $100.
To view these fine works of art and the many other entries of the show, visit the Bertha Lear Art Exhibition through April 27 at the Woodland Library on the Abington campus. Please call (215) 881-7424 for library hours.
The show is named for the late Bertha Lear, a talented artist, who worked with oils, clay, and marble. Robert A. Lear (Penn State '67) and wife, Marilyn, started the endowment to honor and memorialize Bertha Lear’s love of art and to promote art to the students of Penn State Abington. The endowment supports the annual student art exhibition.