Senior Art Show Reception Highlights Student Artists and Award Winners

The Hartwick College Art and Art History Department celebrated the accomplishments of graduating student artists during the Senior Art Show Reception on May 15 in the Foreman Gallery. The exhibition featured a wide range of artistic styles and media, culminating in the presentation of several awards recognizing outstanding student work.

Marissa Yanacheak ’26 received the Presidential Purchase Prize for “Transformation,” earning a $1,000 cash award. This piece will be displayed in the President’s Office for one year before becoming part of the College Alumni Art Collection. “Transformation” features five layers of plexiglass composed of colored dots that visually align from a distance to depict ascending moths and lilies of the valley.

Yanacheak said the piece was both a creative and technical challenge. “Winning the Presidential Purchase Prize meant so much to me,” Yanacheak said. “It means that I have come so far as an artist and that encourages me to push myself farther.”

Laurel Bongiorno, president-elect and vice president for academic affairs and provost, who had spent time viewing each piece before the awards were announced, said the exhibition reflected both the artistic talent of Hartwick’s students and the individuality behind each artist’s work.

“What struck me immediately was not only the extraordinary quality of the work, but also the range of voices, perspectives and media represented throughout the show,” Bongiorno said. “There is no single approach here. No single style. No single definition of what art should be.”

Kylee Hosmer ’26 earned first-place Best in Show and a $600 cash prize for “Minoans in the Modern Day,” a three-dimensional installation inspired by the artwork and artifacts of the ancient Minoan civilization. The project grew out of Hosmer’s study abroad experience in Greece, including spending time on Crete.

Reflecting on the recognition, Hosmer said the award represented more than personal achievement. “Having the Minoans and by extension that abstract style win, shows that realism is not always the presentation of the best in art,” Hosmer said. “We don’t always have to go with realism. We can just make art that we like.”

Second-place Best in Show and a $400 cash prize were awarded to Megan Bryla ’26 for “Internal Integrity,” a ceramic work exploring themes of destruction, repair and resilience through cracked and reconstructed column-inspired forms. Bryla said the project was developed through experimentation with storytelling and the physical qualities of clay.

“I’ve always loved narration and storytelling in art and wanted to bring that into ceramics,” Bryla said. “After many experiments, I finally found the form and imagery I wanted.”

Additional student art awards were announced earlier in May as part of the third-year art students’ concentrations review. Devlin Woughter ’27 received the Vice President’s Purchase Prize, while Samuel Scott ’27 earned Best in Show.