February 7 – March 29
Reception & Awards | Friday, Feb. 21, 5-7 p.m.

My work Noradrenaline Dilation, oil on canvas, 40 x 30 in, is included in this year’s Baker National. The work is about the chemistry of emotion. It relates color to the role of neurotransmitters that regulate our moods. Here color acts as a metaphor for Noradrenaline which repels a nimbus of gray. Noradrenaline is a transmitter similar to adrenaline that increases levels of alertness, priming us for action. It also increases our blood pressure and widens our air passages.

The Holt-Russell Gallery invited artists from across the nation to apply to the Baker National 2025. All mediums were welcomed except installation pieces and time-based pieces such as videos and music. The piece awarded Best in Show will a solo show in the Holt-Russell Gallery during academic year 2025-2026.

This year’s juror, Trish VanOsdel, lives and works in Wichita, Kansas. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Wichita State University and a Master of Fine Arts from Alfred University, in Alfred, New York. Trish is a sculptor and co-owner of Reuben Saunders Gallery in Wichita. Her abstract and conceptual work often broaches subjects such as loss, consumption, and the human condition using a wide range of materials as well as found objects. Having a foot in both the artist and gallery arenas gives her a different perspective, and she aspires to pass on that knowledge to others.