Manifest Creative Research Gallery kicked off the summer with the college student show Rites of Passage and its seventh-annual Magnitude 7 exhibition of small works. Both exhibitions offer an exciting mix of creative endeavors, both large and small.
Rites of Passage, an annual exhibition of work by college juniors, seniors and recent grads, reaches beyond its framework as a student show. Established in 2005 to feature excellence in creative research by young artists from around the country, Rites has become quite competitive. Manifest whittled down 381 entries from 88 colleges and universities to a strong selection of just 13 works of art.
It's obvious when looking at the ambitious work in the show that these are not students fulfilling classroom assignments, but rather emerging artists on the cusp of their professional careers. The work encompasses mostly realism but for two strong pieces — a fine blown-glass sculpture by Ryan Selby of Southern Illinois State University, and a thickly painted canvas by Ross Caliendo of Columbus College of Art and Design.
Rites of Passage and Magnitude 7 can be seen at Manifest Creative Research Gallery in East Walnut Hills through June 24. Go here to read Tamera Lenz Muente's full Critics Pick.
