Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Art exhibition features local artist’s work
Art Unleashed exhibition open April 10-14 at University of the Arts in Philadelphia
University of Arts student James Kwak of Berwyn will have his artwork featured.
PHILADELPHIA » James Kwak, of Berwyn, will have digital prints featured in the Art Unleashed exhibition this week at University of the Arts.
Kwak said that Art Unleashed is a vital opportunity for him to showcase his work alongside the work of successful, professional artists and to promote and sell his pieces.
“It’s a humbling experience having my art showcased at Art Unleashed because this opportunity only comes once a year and it is an honor to be chosen,” Kwak said.
Kwak has known he wanted to be an artist since he was young.
“I am proud to say I am a student of the University of the Arts,” Kwak said, a sophomore, “it’s like a second family.”
He said he found his passion in graphic design through graffiti and the simple focus in lettering and composition.
“The department has an amazing history and it has produced many amazing designers,” Kwak said, of the University of the Arts Graphic Design program.
He said he is inspired every day meeting new artists and like-minded people. He said he is grateful that he is doing what he loves. Kwak shared that he wants to gear his design towards non-profit organizations where it leads to social change, moving forward.
“In high school I was in a lecture that discussed the sensitive topic of human-trafficking. The nonprofit organization, NightLight, got me aware of human trafficking and its hold in society in different parts of the world,” Kwak said . “NightLight actually focuses more in people living in Thailand, by giving women who are held in human trafficking areas, jobs and opportunities to raise money in a more modest way. Apart from human trafficking I took a class where it discussed heavily on the topic of racism, and how it is still alive today. We read an article called The New Jim Crow Law by Michelle Alexander, and we also watched a video called White Like Me by Tim Wise, and it really opened my eyes to how racism lives and how there are so much injustices in the so called ‘land of the free,’ America. It heavily relates to today’s society in where we hear stories like Ferguson, Michael Brown, and many others who lost their lives.”
Kwak said that is one of the reasons why he created the piece that he submitted at the Art Unleashed called, “Color.”
The University of the Arts will host Art Unleashed event on April 10-14, from noon to 5 p.m. showcasing the work of emerging and established artists. Admission is free and the event is open to the public.
Celebrating its sixth year, the show features the original work of students, faculty and alumni through an exhibition and sale on the campus of the University of the Arts in the heart of Center City Philadelphia. Including contemporary jewelry, to ceramics, photography, crafts, furniture, painting, sculpture and illustration, the event is an opportunity for the public to acquire original pieces from across genres.
The exhibition and sale is kicked-off by a Preview Party, April 9 from 6-8 p.m., where guests have access to view and purchase pieces in advance of the public exhibition.
A special VIP Reception with champagne and hors d’oeuvres will be held from 5-6 p.m., one hour prior to the Preview Party. VIP Reception tickets, which also include admission to the full Preview Party, are $250; Preview Party-only tickets are $150. Both can be purchased at uarts.edu/ artunleashed or by calling 215-717-6147.
Both the Preview Party and the public exhibition will take place at the University of the Arts, Hamilton Hall at 320 South Broad Street.
This year’s event will showcase the work by artist and University of the Arts class of 1983 graduate Dan Walsh. He is a painter, printmaker and book artist, based in New York City.
Walsh is known for creating abstract paintings that employ linear geometry, while at the same time subverting it with irregularly drawn shapes, inconsistent lines and a pervasive wit.