A walk past Dexter Lawn and into the Dexter Building through the double doors of the University Art Gallery houses the 2024 Juried Student Exhibition. The gallery features selected art and design students’ artwork, including sculptures, photography, paintings and graphic design work.
Alicia Piller, the solo artist behind the University Art Gallery’s latest show, “Reconstructing Ruins,” served as juror to the art pieces submitted through a Google Form, typically from art and design seniors.
Biological sciences sophomore and University Art Gallery employee Lauren Honold recalls the opening day on April 11. Charcuterie and drinks greeted guests. Students stood at the entrance handing out art magazines. The room was packed with people and chatter.
Honold ran into a friend there whose art was featured in the exhibition.
“She was beaming, she was so happy,” she said.
The curation is artfully crafted by Honold and the other Art Gallery employees. It took about a week and a half to lay out the space, according to Honold.
Art pieces propped up on the floor then would eventually decorate the walls, with each placement thought out between artist and curator.
“It just becomes a matter of what looks visually pleasing and what belongs where. But the other part, some students are really specific about order,” she said, gesturing to a photo collection at the back right of the exhibit. “You kind’ve get to develop a little bit of a relationship with them and try to understand the compositions.”
The group goes wall by wall – without “exactly one narrative,” she said. “It’s just different threads of a larger tapestry.”
The team was initially unsure what to expect as this senior class started during the pandemic.
“We got less submissions this year and we were not expecting what came out of it honestly,” Honold said. “We knew it would be great, but we didn’t know how much would come out of it.”
As a STEM student, Honold said there is a certain picture of Cal Poly typically depicted, but “it’s completely refuted by working here, and that’s why I love it.”
For construction management sophomore and fellow University Art Gallery employee Naomi Lee, this is her second year helping pull together the annual student exhibition.
“I really really enjoy and cherish it differently than I do other art galleries,” she said. “I really enjoy seeing students come together and create just a mosh of different themes and different personal pieces.”
The interaction with the artists makes this exhibition stand out to Lee.
“It’s not often that we get to interact with the artists,” she said, referencing the collaboration with the gallery’s curation. “They’re willing to show you [something personal about them] and they’re willing to be raw and open with you.”
The sheer amount of art and its diversity sets this exhibition apart, Lee said. Other art galleries featuring one, two or a small collection of audiences do not feel as much like a “community,” she said.
“The room transforms,” she said. “It transforms every gallery.”
The Juried Student Exhibition is free and open to the public from in Dexter Building’s University Art Gallery from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.