The Community College of Rhode Island Department of Art, Art History & Design’s bi-annual Student Art Exhibition is underway at the Warwick campus art gallery, showcasing original artwork from the college’s best and brightest students.

Held at the end of the fall and spring semesters, the Student Art Exhibition features artwork from nearly every Art, Art History & Design course, according to department chair Dan O’Neill. The work is displayed from floor to ceiling and wall to wall. Courses represented at this semester’s exhibition include Textiles, Photography, Drawing, Print Making, Graphic Design, and Ceramics.

The fall semester Student Art Exhibition continues through Jan. 30 from 9 am–7 pm Monday through Thursday and 9 am–4 pm on Fridays at the Warwick gallery, located in room 3500 on the third floor of the college’s flagship campus. A reception is scheduled at the Warwick gallery Wednesday, Jan. 28 from 4–7 pm. A second Student Art Exhibition premiers Jan. 26 at the Lincoln campus art gallery (room 1527 on the first floor) and will be open through Jan. 30 from 10 a.m.–4 p.m. each day. The Lincoln gallery reception will be held Thursday, Jan. 29 from 4–6 p.m.

“The exhibition and especially the reception is an opportunity for students, family, friends, faculty and the whole CCRI community to come together and celebrate the amazing achievements of our students,” O’Neill said. “In our studio courses, students make original art and design work every semester. They discover new techniques, new stories, and new ways to express them. Displaying this work publicly and experiencing it with an audience is an important part of the academic experience of the art department.”

Joseph Ciesynski, a second-year art student from Pawtucket, R.I., who now lives in West Warwick, has two pieces on display in Warwick that he created in this past semester’s Ceramics I (ARTS 1650) course. They’re called slab containers, which are vessels – like a box or jar – built by cutting and joining flat, rolled-out pieces of clay, or slabs, rather than using a wheel. Ciesynski’s first piece is a rectangular cup made from terracotta formed to resemble a lopped-off tree branch. The other is a container made from Z clay, or stoneware, formed into the belt buckle worn by Spawn, a featured character in the monthly comic book of the same name, which resembles a skull with chains.

Ciesynski plans to continue his education beyond CCRI, possibly at the Rhode Island School of Design or the Lesley University College of Art and Design in Cambridge, Mass. He said it’s “rewarding to be recognized, not only by my teachers, but the department chair,” by having his work displayed in the student exhibition.

“It is always an honor to be invited to display my artwork anywhere,” Ciesynski said. “Hopefully, displaying my art in the school art shows helps to get me and my work noticed. I’m just working hard at putting together a worthy portfolio.”

Jose Frias, a San Fernando, Calif., native who earned his associate in fine arts (AFA) this past spring, designed tea pots in his Ceramics III (ARTS 1660) course that are currently on display in Warwick. He is transferring to Rhode Island College to earn his bachelor’s degree and pursue a career in education.

“It's a great sense of pride to see my work displayed,” Frais said. “To be recognized by my professor means everything. My work is an extension of the knowledge given to me by my professor.”

For more information on CCRI’s Department of Art, Art History & Design or a schedule of upcoming public exhibitions, visit ccri.edu/art.