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Faculty and Staff

Assistant Professor's Work Highlighted as “Most Original"

Justin Kunz, an alumnus of BYU’s illustration program and an assistant professor in the BYU Department of Design, recently received the “Most Original Award of Excellence” in the Associate Signature Division from the 24th National Juried Exhibition of the Oil Painters of America (OPA) for one of his paintings. OPA is a not-for-profit organization representing more than 4,000 artists throughout North America. Its mission is to advance the cause of traditional, representational fine art by providing a forum in which artists can display their art in regional and national competitions. Their National Juried Exhibition is one of the field’s most prestigious competitions. “The OPA National Exhibition is an important juried venue for representational painters,” said Kunz. “I had a piece juried into the show last year, but this is the first time I’ve won one of the awards.”

The Days Were Accomplished by Justin Kunz

Kunz’s award-winning piece, The Days Were Accomplished, is a 10” x 8” oil on linen representation of Mary as she admires the sleeping baby Jesus in her arms. Kunz says the title comes from Luke 2:6, 'And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.'The piece is currently on display in St. Augustine, Florida along with other awardees from this year’s National Exhibition. Owing much to the university he graduated from and with it being a motivating factor behind his work, Kunz had this to say about his love for BYU, “In all the time I've worked here, I have been very impressed with the high caliber of students, faculty and alumni. So many of them are doing remarkable things, striving for excellence in their fields, and making an impact for good in the world.”

Christ-Teaching-His-Disciples

Kunz’s talents are not solely confined to painting. Along with working on a multi-figure painting of Christ raising the daughter of Jairus, he is also currently developing a movie. He has recently completed commissioned work for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a series of numismatic designs for the United States Mint, including a gold coin and a quarter in the “America the Beautiful” series. To view more of Kunz’s work, click here.