Any student’s goal is to find passion and direction which illuminate the path of his or her future career. 

Several students in the Mississippi State University Department of Art have not only found that passion, but have also taken a step along that path. Their work has been chosen for display in the 42nd Annual Student Juried Exhibition.

The Department of Art Gallery in McComas Hall features 87 pieces ranging from traditional paintings to abstract sculptures. The exhibition began March 4 and will run through March 28. The gallery is open Tuesday – Friday from 5-7 p.m.

A reception will be held for the artists and their families and friends on March 27 from 5-7 p.m.

Jake Weigel, exhibitions coordinator, said the show helps student-artists move forward with real measures in beginning their career.

“Jury shows are a big part of being an artist, and so it’s a stepping stone for that,” he said.

Weigel explained that in jury shows, artists submit artwork and a juror chooses which pieces will be featured as well as chooses a first, second and third place and various merit awards. 

The 2014 Juried Student Exhibition show has two categories, fine art and graphic design. Wesley Grissom, assistant director of J. Johnson Gallery in Jacksonville Beach, Fla., judged the fine art submissions, and Joel Anderson, owner/creative director for the Anderson Design Group, judged the graphic design submissions.

Weigel said the exhibition benefits students, their families, the university and the community because the gallery gives a wide-open glimpse of the artwork the Department of Art students produce. 

“It’s representative of what our students are doing,” he said. “It’s great work, diverse. It’s something that people, if they saw it, would see a good representation of what’s going on in the art department.”

Landon Peairs, senior fine arts major with an emphasis in painting, has helped set up the exhibition as part of a directed independent study in gallery management.

Peairs said she has learned there is a lot more behind-the-scenes effort put into crafting an exhibition than she originally thought. 

She said she has had to work carefully to make sure a number of small details are correct, like making sure all labels are accurate and also learning how to publicize the gallery well. 

“This is the first show I’ve helped with,” she said. “I just kept running into mistakes.”

Peairs said any missteps along the way have taught her the ins and outs of gallery management.

As a student herself, Peairs said the exhibition creates a nice way for students to connect with other art students. Most of the time, she said she only gets to interact with students within her emphasis, but the exhibition gives her the opportunity to see what work graphic design or photography students create.

“My favorite part: everyone is able to see what their peers are doing,” she said. “Students can get great ideas from their peers. It’s a good way to get everyone in the department involved.”

Ty Barnes, a senior art major featured in the exhibit, said he thought he would get at least one piece in, but he was pleasantly surprised when five of his pieces were chosen. 

Barnes said though his work hangs in the show, he still uses his time in the department to explore his own process and work and to arrive at a deeper knowledge of his own pieces. 

“Aside from being able to describe the aesthetics of a piece, which anybody can do, I still do not fully understand what it is I’m doing besides making things that I think are nice,” he said. “That’s why I’m here, though. I’m a student hoping that I might learn how to describe my work and understand why I do what I do.”