Congratulations to Fii Hoynacki, winner of College of Western Idaho’s 2020 Juried Art Show. Hoynacki’s oil painting, Not Enough, was selected by juror and CWI Art instructor, Bryan Moore, from nearly 60 artist entries. Twenty-one of these entries, including Hoynacki's painting as Best in Show, were chosen for the 2020 Juried Art Exhibit.
Hoynacki originally came to CWI from Washington aspiring to be an American Sign Language interpreter, but her love for art lured her to the Studio Art program. Her winning piece was her final project in April VanDeGrift’s Painting I class. Hoynacki plans to transfer to Boise State University’s Art Department to continue her education after graduation in 2021.
“This work represents the difficulties in communicating while suffering from mental illness and how uncomfortable asking for help can be,” explained Hoynacki. “The story behind this painting is my close friend had a mental breakdown at work. He had been trying to ask management for help for months before the breaking point, and they offered him no resources. Instead of helping him, they labeled him as violent and trespassed him from the property. Even though he asked for help, it was like he had no voice. This painting is his distorted portrait; I tried to convey the sickness on the outside, and the discomfort of trying to communicate that illness.”
“In selecting the winner of this year’s show,” said Moore during an interview with CWI student, Olivia Boomhower, “I had great difficulty as there were several contenders. Technical skill was certainly a factor, but the final deciding factor was how the emotive quality of the work affected my personal feelings and appealed to my specific taste.”
Entries for College of Western Idaho’s (CWI) 2021 Juried Art Show are now open to currently registered CWI students. One artist’s work will receive a Connections Excellence Award in addition to a $150 cash prize. Artwork for the 2021 Juried Art Show must be submitted by Friday, April 2. For full submission details, please visit the Connections Project page in myCommons on Blackboard. Contact Karen Brown at karenbrown@cwi.edu with questions or to learn more.
