Two SMU art students win awards from Dallas Museum of Art

Two students in the Meadows School Division of Art are among the 10 winners of the Dallas Museum of Art’s 2012 Awards to Artists and travel grants. They are the only undergraduates among the winners, which include graduate students and professional artists.

Oscar Mejia (B.F.A. ’12) and Jacob Theriot (B.F.A. ’13) are two of the four winners of the 2012 Clare Hart DeGolyer Memorial Fund Awards. The DeGolyer Fund was established in 1980 to “recognize exceptional talent and potential in young visual artists who show a commitment to continuing their artistic endeavors.” The fund is awarded to artists between 15 and 25 years of age who reside in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona or Colorado.

Mejia’s current body of work derives from his desire to work on large surfaces at minimal expense. The DeGolyer Award funds will enable Mejia to create a series of site-specific performance paintings. By working with found objects and painting en plein air, Mejia’s new project will raise questions regarding the commodification of the art object and the traditional studio practice.

Theriot’s color-field paintings involve a gradual buildup of transparent layers of color. With the funds awarded, Theriot will purchase supplies that will allow him to develop his work further by creating a series of paintings that increasingly delve into issues of scale and viewership.

In addition to the DeGolyer Fund Awards, the Dallas Museum of Art also awarded four Arch and Anne Giles Kimbrough Fund grants and two Otis and Velma Dozier Travel Grants.

Awards to Artists grants have been given to more than 245 recipients, many of whom have gone on to successful careers within North Texas and across the country. Over the years, the DMA has acquired works from many of the artists who have received the various awards, including Jeff Elrod, David Bates, Ludwig Schwarz, Annette Lawrence and John Pomara.

The winners will discuss their work during the Awards to Artists talk at the Dallas Museum of Art on Thursday, May 24, at 6:30 p.m. A reception with the artists will follow the discussion in the DMA’s C3 Theater.

For more information, contact the Dallas Museum of Art at 214-922-1200 or visit http://www.DallasMuseumofArt.org/.

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