By Kelly Wiley

Hours of dedication and hard work are finally paying off for several UK art students.

The Carey Ellis Juried Student Show, which has been held for the past 17 years, features around 57 pieces of student-made artwork, said Crimson Duvall, an art studio graduate student.

The show has an open viewing in the Barnhart Gallery of the Reynolds Building No. 1 throughout the week at 1:10 p.m. Admission is free.

A juror chose the artwork featured in the student show, Duvall said, and during this Friday’s Open Studio event, the juror will judge the artwork and hand out awards.

“All the entries were at a higher level than previous years, so the juror had a tough time making the selections, but I think he did a great job,” Duvall said.

Duvall and a few other graduate students have spent a lot of time preparing the show. She said it has been a lot of work, but it was worth it.

“I think it looks great,” Duvall said. “There is a wide variety of art and it’s representative of the student body. I think it’s the best quality work I have seen in years.”

Robert Dickes, president of the Art Graduate Student Association, said he was excited about the student show because he feels that it represents all the different mediums of art. He said he believes the student artwork featured in the show is a big contribution to the local arts.

“Many of these students will go on to be the leaders in the art community both here in Lexington and elsewhere,” Dickes said.

Dmitry Strakovsky, associate professor of new media, said he was also excited about the event because many judge cultures by their art.

“It is one of the defining characteristics of a culture,” Strakovsky said. “When you are looking at a culture historically, you start seeing the importance of art and it really defines the culture.”

Duvall said she believes that students should come just to show their support for their fellow students.

“We have work featured in the student show that ranges anywhere from freshman all the way to graduate level,” Duvall said. “There are a lot of different concepts, and everything has a different meaning. The whole show is very exciting.”