MSU faculty member among international publication’s ‘25 Best’ in fine art

Contact: Sasha Steinberg

MSU art professor Brent Funderburk’s mixed-media painting collection, “Palladio’s Dream: New Solar Myths,” was among creations by 25 artists from around the world that were selected for inclusion in the Fine Art category of Creative Quarterly: The Journal of Art and Design’s Best 100 Annual 2015. The collection also appeared in last year’s CQ Journal Issue 37.

STARKVILLE, Miss. — A longtime faculty member in Mississippi State’s College of Architecture, Art and Design again is receiving recognition from a major art and design publication.

Professor Brent Funderburk’s mixed-media painting collection, “Palladio’s Dream: New Solar Myths,” was among works by 25 artists from around the world that were judged worthy of inclusion in the Fine Art category of Creative Quarterly: The Journal of Art and Design’s Best 100 Annual 2015.

In addition to Barnes & Noble and other major retail bookstores, issues of the publication—including the Best 100 Annual to be released in April—may be purchased online at www.CQJournal.com.

Funderburk’s “Palladio’s Dream: New Solar Myths” earlier appeared in CQ Journal’s Issue 37.

The recent CQ Journal recognition marks the fifth time that Funderburk, an MSU William L. Giles Distinguished Professor, has seen his work featured in the New York-based and internationally distributed journal that showcases graphic design, illustration, photography and fine art work by talented students and professionals.

British painter Nathan Walsh, New York illustrator Katherine Street and graphic designer Oliver Munday, and California photographer Jennifer Davick were jurors for the annual competition. In addition to fine art, 25 top artists each were selected in graphic design, illustration and photography categories.   

A 2015 recipient of the MSU Ralph E. Powe Research Excellence Award, Funderburk also will be featured in the spring 2016 issue of “Watercolor Artist” magazine. For more information, visit http://www.artistsnetwork.com/watercolor-artist.

Funderburk is a North Carolina native who has taught at MSU since 1982. Over the decades, he also has been honored by the university with the John Grisham Faculty Excellence and Burlington Northern Teaching Excellence awards.

A fine arts graduate of East Carolina University, he is a former MSU art department head who currently serves as its fine-arts thesis coordinator. Painting survey, watercolor, watermedia, senior thesis and advanced studio are among courses he has taught.

Funderburk’s works have been exhibited nationally and internationally. In 2010, he was named official artist for the Jackson-based USA International Ballet Competition. For additional biographical information, visit www.brentfunderburk.com.

Part of the College of Architecture, Art and Design, MSU’s art department is the longtime home of the Magnolia State’s largest undergraduate studio art program. It offers a bachelor of fine arts degree, with concentrations in graphic design, photography and fine art (ceramics, drawing, painting, printmaking and sculpture). Learn more at www.caad.msstate.edu, facebook.com/CAADatMSU and twitter.com/CAADatMSU.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.