SBU Alumna 1 of 20 Nationwide to Win Prestigious Graduate Arts Award

Alex Iosub (photo by Jeremy Dennis)

Stony Brook University alumna Alexandra Iosub, ’11, is one of 20 scholars nationwide to receive a graduate arts award from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, which she will use toward academic expenses as she begins her master’s degree in fine arts at Penn State this fall.

At Stony Brook, Iosub excelled in printmaking, working successfully in both intaglio and lithography under the mentorship of Martin Levine and Lorena Salcedo-Watson, and ceramic sculpture with Toby Buonagurio. Art Department Chair John Lutterbie and professors Buonagurio and Levine all helped Iosub with the award application process.

“The Department of Art is extremely proud of Alexandra’s accomplishment,” said Lutterbie. “We were well aware of her special talents and her commitment to working for others while at Stony Brook. It is gratifying to see an organization as prestigious as the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation also recognizes her creative energy and generosity of spirit. We wish her the very best as she enters on this new phase of her life.”

While at Stony Brook, Iosub’s work was exhibited in several shows on campus including a personal show in the Tabler Arts Center and group shows in the Student Activities Center Gallery and the University Art Gallery at Staller Center. She was also selected to exhibit her work two years in a row at the annual juried art competition at Sunwood, the home of Stony Brook University President Samuel L. Stanley Jr., MD. She also exhibited work in Bellport and Riverhead, where her prints earned first prizes.

Since graduation, Iosub has been working as a muralist and graphic designer for a local commercial art firm, leaving her mark on the aesthetic landscape of Long Island with several large works in Queens, Lynbrook and Riverhead.

“I am excited to begin my graduate life at Penn State and am looking forward to the exclusive studio time and the teaching experience,” said Iosub. “I hope that by the end of five years, I will be able to set up a program that helps autistic children through the visual and tactile experience of art, and perhaps find a way to make a difference in the life of my little nephew, who is autistic.

“This scholarship has made my dream possible. Now I can focus on the important stuff and work to achieve the goals I thought were impossible just a few months ago.”

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation provides scholarships to high school, undergraduate and graduate students. The Graduate Arts Award is for up to $50,000 per year for up to three years to college seniors and recent graduates with financial need who will pursue a graduate or professional degree in the visual arts, performing arts or creative writing.

“The scholars demonstrated outstanding artistic and creative merit in addition to impressive records of achievement, both academically and in the arts,” said Lawrence Kutner, Executive Director of the Foundation. “The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation has an ongoing commitment to support graduate students making extraordinary contributions to their fields of study and recognizes the importance of providing assistance to those striving for excellence.”