LEXINGTON, KY.- University of Kentucky art professor Arturo Alonzo Sandoval was presented the Albert D. and Elizabeth H. Kirwan Memorial Prize at the 140th UK Commencement held May 6, in Rupp Arena. The annual award, which carries a $5,000 cash prize, recognizes a full-time UK faculty member for outstanding contributions to original research or creative scholarship. It is named in honor of Albert D. Kirwan, president of UK from 1968 to 1970, and Elizabeth, his wife, and was established by their sons.

The 2007 recipient, Sandoval, is a full professor in the Department of Art. Sandoval’s experimental techniques and expressive interpretations in fiber art have earned him an international reputation. The Kirwan honor recognizes the numerous awards and international recognition that the artist/educator has achieved over the last four years.

A pioneer in his field, Sandoval during more than a three decade-long career has woven a new aesthetic and a new paradigm for contemporary fiber art from non-traditional materials such as recycled computer tape, battery cable, Holographic film and Lurex. The patch patterns and shapes of his most recent work evoke the look of traditional handmade quilts using auto industry Mylar and library 35 mm microfilm. Sandoval interlaces these 20th century industrial materials together in evocative explorations of terrorism, spirituality and politics.

Sandoval believes his interest in fiber arts may come from his Hispanic and Native American (Tano) heritage. "I have been told that my mother wove 60 blankets while pregnant with me," noted the artist. "I also discovered at the age of 40, while visiting my birthplace, that men on my paternal grandmother's side, the Cordova Weaving Shop, had been weavers of colonial Spanish textiles for more than 250 years and continue to weave functional craft objects in my home state of New Mexico."

Sandoval’s work has symmetry, brilliant color, bold shapes, contrast and pattern as that of his Hispanic and Native American precursors. Like the Cordova weavers, he also uses symbolism as an important element of design; while the Cordova weavers use traditional stylized forms to depict feathers and landscape, Sandoval combines complex patterned circles, flags, targets and planets in his work to evoke political and social commentaries on contemporary concerns.

Sandoval's fiber art has exhibited extensively regionally and nationally, and accepted into juried international exhibitions in Switzerland , Poland and Japan . His work is also part of a number of public collections including New York's Museum of Modern Art and The Museum of Art and Design, Smithsonian Museum of American Art's Renwick Gallery, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Chicago's National Vietnam Veteran’s Museum and Louisville's Speed Art Museum, as well as corporate and public collections.

Sandoval is an adjudicator, lecturer, exhibition curator, set designer, workshop facilitator, non-profit board member, art mentor and adviser. He is the recipient of numerous honors, including two National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Visual Arts Fellowships, several NEA Visiting Artist Grants, two Kentucky Arts Council Al Smith Visual Arts Fellowships, two Al Smith Professional Service Awards, a Kentucky Craft Marketing Honorary Award, the Rude Osolnik Craftsman Award and the 2003 Governor’s Award in the Arts - Artist Award. Whether using a floor loom, sewing machine, interlacing or simply combining new age materials in collage or assemblage, Sandoval pursues the cutting edge in his chosen art medium.

The artist is set to become the first faculty member in the UK Department of Art to have an endowed professorship named for him. The department is currently fundraising for this endowment.