Campus Life

Art student wins international sculpture competition

Sharon Kirby, a Bachelor of Fine Arts candidate at the University of West Florida, was awarded the prestigious International Sculpture Center's Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award for 2009. Her work titled, "Original Gray Intendo," was one of 11 chosen out of more than 1,300 submissions from students at 176 colleges and universities from North America and abroad.

Sharon Kirby, a Bachelor of Fine Arts candidate at the University of West Florida, was awarded the prestigious International Sculpture Center’s Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award for 2009. Her work titled, “Original Gray Intendo,” was one of 11 chosen out of more than 1,300 submissions from students at 176 colleges and universities from North America and abroad.

“Original Gray Intendo” will be displayed as part of the Grounds for Sculpture’s Fall/Winter Exhibition from October through January in Hamilton, N.J. In addition, the sculpture will be featured in the October 2009 issue of Sculpture Magazine. “Gray Intendo” will also be a part of a traveling exhibition that will visit arts organizations across the country.

“A new culture has arisen from entertainment technology, one that I am a part of, a video game culture that my work is based upon,” said Kirby. “My art focuses on questioning man’s relationships with video games, whether symbiotic or parasitic. I create paintings and sculptures that mimic video games and their consoles, some contemporary, others considered by my generation to be nostalgic. I use spray paints and stencils for their immediacy, intricate detail and propagandist nature to make playful, humorous, interactive and color-saturated pieces that are often married with ominous undertones.”

The International Sculpture Center established the annual “Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award” program in 1994 to recognize young sculptors and to encourage their continued commitment to the field.

“In receiving this award, Sharon has just gotten a free ticket to any graduate school of her choice, all expenses paid,” said Suzette Doyon, chair of the UWF Department of Art. “I am very proud of Sharon. But, she shares the spotlight today with her sculpture instructor, Valerie George, who mentored Sharon over the last few years and guided her through the application process. Now, the entire country will see the quality of the art instruction we have here at UWF.”

Learn more about UWF’s Art Program at uwf.edu/art.

Written by Janice Cooper, University Marketing Communications