Need an inspiring way to take a break from the midway and bratwurst stands at the Ohio State Fair? Visit the Cox Fine Arts Center.

Inside are 429 works by professional and amateur artists from throughout the state.

Delightful surprises in ceramics, mixed-media works, paintings, photographs and more can be found throughout the spacious hall. Also part of the exhibit are 15 short films by Ohio artists.

For the 2016 edition, more than 1,500 works of art were submitted for consideration, with 303 by professional artists and 126 by amateur artists selected by the jurors: professional artists Douglas Max Utter of Cleveland; Gwen Heffner of Berea, Kentucky; Alex Coon of Massillon; and Roberto Madrigal of Cincinnati.

Best of Show honors in the professional category went to Juliellen Byrne of central Ohio for her ceramic sculpture “Prague Dog,” a whimsical figure of a toddler wearing a cone-shaped hat and standing in the bodies of the three dogs at his feet.

A number of Franklin County artists are represented, including Laine Bachman, whose acrylic painting won one of two Greater Columbus Arts Council professional awards. In bold colors of rose, purple, green and aqua, her “Underwater Garden” shows the burgeoning life of birds and foliage above the water line and the fish, coral and plants beneath.

Kathy McGhee’s silkscreen print “Reminiscence” — winner of one of 10 Ohio Arts Council professional awards — is a fascinating scene of a man relaxing in his recliner in a living room that is being encroached upon by trees and foliage.

Jesse Luketic’s “Brachychiton Seedpod,” also an Ohio Arts Council award winner, is a blown and carved glass sculpture of a beautiful blue pod with etched clear-glass balls as the seeds inside.

Richard Wood won a Juror’s Choice award with his moody and textured black-and-white digital print “Solitary Walk on an Oregon Beach.”

Standouts in the professional category also include “Peaceful Collapse” by David Short of Lucas County. The charcoal pencil on paper and wood construction of rectangle shapes shows a human figure flying as blocklike parts of his body break and fall away.

Humorous pieces such as “Installation of the CF Combs Family Portraits” by Susanne Dotson of Lorain County speak to a state fair theme. Her Ohio Arts Council award winner assembles in rows of four each 12 portraits of chickens created in acrylic, gold leaf and marker. Some of the hens have adorned themselves with earrings.

John Taylor-Lehman of Muskingum County uses hundreds of beer caps on wood to create a still life of flowers and sculptures of a fish and a dog.

Among the most impressive works in the amateur category are the Best of Show winner, “ Metamorphosis,” a large installation of wood, raku pottery and metal created by Karry A. Boganwright of Franklin County, and “Ohio Star: State Fair” by Chris Mercerhill, which won a Juror's Choice award. The Franklin County artist assembled photographs of a midway with a Ferris wheel, stitched together with thread to create a kaleidoscopic scene perfect for its venue.

Last year, almost 50,000 people visited the Fine Arts Exhibition, and officials expect a similar crowd. Like the fair itself, the exhibit offers too much to absorb, but the effort to experience it all proves worthwhile.