2014 - CRAIG HAWKINS

Summer is often the season when people yearn to escape from their normal lives. A vacation is viewed as a way to reconnect with family and friends, to gain new experiences and to recharge the soul. Each individual differs in how they choose to escape from the monotony of everyday life, whether it is a physical or mental exploration. Artists are particularly adept at exploring and visualizing ideas of escape and fantasy as themes throughout their works of art.

In this exhibit, Fantastical Minds, we explore the work of artists who have the creative ability to produce scenes and depictions that are beyond the everyday, the mundane and the common. Each artist has his or her own unique expression and interpretation of fantasy and escape. Highly fantasized scenes portraying mystical worlds, spectacular creatures and exceptional characters are all conjured from their creative minds. Evident throughout these works is the pure whimsy and uninhibited imagination of these artists who are able to convey their unique sense of the fantastical.

- Anne Lambert Tracht and Jill Malino, Curators

Terminus Located at the heart of Buckhead, at the corner of Peachtree and Piedmont, Terminus is a premier destination for world-class office space, home to many of Atlanta's finest companies. The project also includes Five-star dining, buzzing day and night, luxury condominiums, loaded with amenities and street level retail.

VSU’s Craig Hawkins is one of 47 artists selected for the Texas National 2014. He is also one of 82 artists — the only one from Georgia — selected to appear in the 2015 International Drawing Annual, an exhibition-in-print publication by Manifest Gallery in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is a 2001 VSU graduate who returned as an assistant professor in 2011. read more...

Texas National 2014 Competition and Exhibition
Sat., Apr. 12–Sat., Jun. 14
The Cole Art Center, Ledbetter Gallery
Steven F Austin State University’s 20th annual juried competition and exhibition attracts hundreds of entrants from across the nation, providing emerging artists an opportunity to have work juried by a highly acclaimed artist or critic. Opening reception and announcement of winners April 12, 6-8 p.m. The juror’s show opens at the same time upstairs in the Reavley Gallery. This year’s juror is the artist Jerome Witkin.

As soldiers and their families come to grips with ongoing deployments, the need for emotional and spiritual healing is greater than ever.

REFLECTIONS OF GENEROSITY: THE ART OF WAR AND PEACE '14 is a traveling exhibition about the power of painting, sculpture, and song to facilitate restoration through generosity, community, and beauty.

Artwork and performances reflect the spirit of ongoing generosity demonstrated by the military. We honor and remember all the men and women who sacrificed their beautiful lives as a result of 9/11 and the subsequent ongoing conflicts. -Ron Kelsey