Forty-three student-made art pieces, hand-selected from 130 submissions, debuted Thursday at the Student Juried Exhibition in the University Art Gallery. The opening reception highlighted original student artwork across multiple mediums from the Art and Design Department.
Curated by Left Field Gallery Director Nick Wilkinson, the exhibition features award-winning 2-D and 3-D studio art, as well as pieces of graphic design, photography, sculptures and time-based work.
“It was more of a challenge than I thought it would be,” Wilkinson said. “Going from graphic designs to paintings was difficult, but it was fun and I’m really happy with how it [turned out].”
The gallery’s first piece of art was the first-place winner in the time-based work category — a category of pieces that go beyond still visuals. Graphic communications senior and artist Jacob Kwong became a living canvas, sitting silently on the floor with a cardboard box over his head, inviting attendees to draw and write directly on his body. By the end of the evening, hand-drawn hearts, squiggles and short messages covered his skin.
Landscape architecture junior Maxine Peterson wrote the word “amoure” on Kwong, and said she believes love should be felt throughout all types of bodies.
“That was super interesting,” Peterson said. “It’s kind of weird because you’re detached from the identity of the person, and you’re just looking at the body, which is kind of strange.”
Award-winning students were unaware they had won awards until minutes before the reception opened, when Interim Gallery Coordinator Sara Frantz placed golden stickers next to artists’ names.
“I thought [Frantz] was pulling a joke on me,” art and design junior Lucas Vergara said. “She was staring at me as she was putting on the sticker, and I was like, ‘What is happening?’ I did not see it coming.”
Vergara placed first in the photography category for two photographs inspired by The Marías’ albums, “Cinema” and “Submarine.” He recreated the albums’ lighting styles and added a personal touch by exploring with color — a departure from his typical black-and-white photography.
“I loved this project, but I still see myself coming back to black and white [art],” Vergara said. “I don’t know if it’s a natural draw to it, but things feel a lot more uniform and crisp in black and white.”
For Jaclyn Brodersen, a mechanical engineering and art and design senior, her sculpting piece, “The Oligarch’s Web,” came to her naturally. The piece ties together issues like overconsumption, plastic waste and bigotry through symbolism using everyday waste found on campus.
“I couldn’t shake that feeling, that specific thought that all these [issues] were actually the same and they were all being caused by the same thing,” Brodersen said. “If we solve one of these issues, it would solve all of the rest.”
The Student Juried Exhibition is open to the public Tuesday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. through April 25 at the University Art Gallery.