Juried exhibition showcases alumni art

Isabella Martino, named Best in Show winner, graduated in 2019. Her work, "Nonna Maria's Chair," evokes the way that objects can resonate with familial relationships. Martino has shown her work throughout the region, including at the Quinlan Visual Arts Center in Gainesville.

"When I found out this won Best in Show, I simply could not believe it. I called up my friends and screamed it to the world," Martino said. "It is my honor to showcase this painting at my alma mater, and I want to personally thank the juror of this exhibition, Rachel Watson, for selecting it. This is really encouraging for me because I have not attempted mixed media in this way before."

Victoria Cooke, director of art galleries at UNG, said that Martino's work "has this really deep meaning."

"It's something Isabella really captures in her work. She's able to tap into universal emotions," Cooke said.

Martino said her mixed media piece explores the strained, matrilineal relationships between the four generations of women in her family.

"The composition here is a collage that feels like a blurry memory," Martino said. "The sewing aspect was a new challenge for me that required patience and adjustment, very similar to that of the growing pains of mother-daughter bonds."