West Kentucky Community & Technical College

« Back to Recent News

Copy of: Two Exhibition Openings at the Bill Ford Gallery & the Paducah Junior College Gallery

Paducah School of Art and Design

by Justin Jones

Paducah, KY (01/20/2025) — Two exhibitions running concurrently will open at the Paducah School of Art & Design (PSAD) beginning January 23. "Amalgamation" by Jim Alworth, and "Poster Designs" featuring works by Murray State University graphic design students will be on display January 23 through February 20, 2025. An opening reception for both shows will be held on Thursday, January 24, from 5 - 6:30 p.m.

"Amalgamation," a solo exhibition by Jim Alworth, a ceramicist working on his MFA at SIU Carbondale, and a former studio technician and community education teacher for the PSAD, will be on display in the Bill Ford Gallery. A versatile ceramic artist with a rich, two-decade career exploring the complexities of clay, Alworth offers a unique perspective on the creative process as a ceramic artist and educator, with a background in philosophy and an MBA focusing on entrepreneurship

Alworth said, "In my work, I blend animals with humans to make something wholly new. The animals I choose-birds, crabs, slugs, and snails-combined with human fingers, tongues, eyes, and teeth blend into disconcerting hybrids. This work explores the connection between nature and the psyche."

"The creatures reference our history where mythological beings are evoked to understand and explain the human experience," added Alwoth. "The stories of fantastic beasts help us understand the conflict between the rational mind and the corporeal. These creatures explore how humans are both gross and cute, weird and delightful."

Alworth will give a public gallery talk discussing his artwork and practices, Thursday, February 20, at 12:30 p.m. in the Bill Ford Gallery.

Featured in the PJC Gallery will be "Poster Designs" by Murray State University's graphic design class. Taught by Professor Jim Bryant, the works are from students in the Fall 2024 semester class, combining computer graphics with silkscreen techniques.

Bryant says, "Poster Design as a discipline is frequently a combination of illustration and typography with the goal to inform, entertain, or persuade. The students who created these posters were permitted to create posters about anything they wanted but were challenged to create posters for different audiences and promoting a range of subjects."

According to Bryant the students came from a variety of backgrounds and experience-most are art or graphic design majors- and range in level from sophomore to seniors. Students typically started with pencil and paper for ideas, created the original designs digitally in either Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, or Pro-Create, then printed the posters using screen printing in Murray State's printmaking classrooms. As students became more comfortable with screen printing techniques, they were challenged to work larger, and many of the students became more creative in how they created their images. Several images in this show were even created with Playdoh, photographed, edited digitally, then turned into a screen-printed poster.

"The subjects suggested to them included: product advertisements; political or social awareness; sports or sports events; public health, non-profit; theatre, dance, or art exhibition, music or comedy performance," said Bryant. "Within these different categories of subjects, students were encouraged to consider their audience, the message they wanted to communicate, and finally the impact they expected the poster to have on the audience."

The Paducah School of Art & Design is located at 905 Harrison Street, in Paducah's historic downtown. Gallery hours are Monday - Thursday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. In addition to the two gallery exhibits, the Helen LaFrance Exhibition in the Paducah Junior College Library will also be open for viewing during the reception. All events are free and open to the public.

West Kentucky Community and Technical College (WKCTC) has been recognized as an Aspen Prize Top 10 Community College five times by the Aspen Institute and has been named a Finalist with Distinction three times. Offering more than 200 degree, diploma, and certificate options, WKCTC has been consistently recognized for providing students with vital job training and continuing higher education opportunities, for achieving high completion and transfer rates, and for providing strong employment results for its graduates. For more information, visit westkentucky.kctcs.edu

Media Attachments

Copyright © 2025 Merit Pages, Inc. • All Rights Reserved. • Terms of Service • Privacy Policy • Opt Out