Oakton Students Receive Awards of Excellence at Illinois Skyway Art Exhibit

(April 4, 2018) Two Oakton art students, Oxana Mihailov of Chicago and Natallia Ryshtakova of Skokie, were honored with awards of excellence for their works at the “2018 Skyway Juried Art Exhibition,” currently on display at the college’s Koehnline Museum of Art, 1600 E. Golf Road, Des Plaines.

Mihailov’s “Button Chair” exhibit is a mixed media display consisting of buttons, fishing line and plywood while Ryshtakova’s piece, “The Braid,” is a color pencil display.

The eight Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference institutions participating in the exhibition include Oakton, College of Lake County, Elgin Community College, McHenry County College, Moraine Valley Community College, Morton College, Prairie State College and Waubonsee Community College. The 52 pieces on display showcase a wide variety of media, including paintings, prints, photographs, ceramics and digital art.

“There were thousands of entries from all eight schools, and these pieces were judged to be the most exceptional,” Oakton Chair of Art and Design Lou Pierozzi says. “It says a lot about the passion of our Oakton art students to have taken home two awards of excellence. Oxana is one of my students, and I know she spent hundreds of hours methodically putting over 100 buttons together for her work.”

In addition, Oakton art student Joshua Robins of Des Plaines received an award of merit for his digital photography display, “Last Along the Water.”

“This exhibition is a unique opportunity for the public to view dedicated works of art students from several Illinois community colleges,” Nathan Harpaz, museum manager and curator, says. “It’s especially gratifying to have three Oakton exhibits receiving awards.”

The exhibit runs through Saturday, April 28. For more details, call 847-635-2633, or visit www.oakton.edu/museum.