On March 15, the Art and Design Program hosted its annual Student Exhibition in the Art and Design Gallery from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Students were given the opportunity to showcase their work across mediums from painting, illustration, graphic design, watercolor, oil paint and more.
Graphic design, illustration, and studio art majors were encouraged to submit six pieces through one year of work that demonstrated creative concepts of storytelling and effective use of tone, color, movement, and mark making.
Senior Kayce Lewandowski is a studio art major who had her work presented in the exhibition titled “Hidden in Plain Sight” and “I Am the Walrus.”
“‘Hidden in Plain Sight’ is a slightly looser and more expressive piece depicting a contorted version of myself. I think putting my reality on canvas was one way I faced it, but it also helped me make a powerful piece of art that felt relevant to myself,” said Lewandowski. “In contrast, ‘I Am the Walrus’ graphically highlights the lyrics to the song by the Beatles through text in the background and a foreshortened portrait of my partner using a turntable in the foreground.”
Senior Ryan Scerbo channeled his inspiration from his New York upbringing of street culture, music and branding. Scerbo’s pieces were exhibited including an article about David Lynch, a Kiss “World Tour” poster and a Nike motion graphics advertisement.
“I usually go off of garments,” said Scerbo. “There’s a lot of designing and seeing where that art lives in a certain space whether it be a shirt, hood, pants, something like that. The regular process is still the same as the regular artist, so is the foundation sketch and ideas.”
Scerbo, Lewandowski and other featured student artists only displayed their final works. The challenging process behind their creations tells a different story.
“Finding enough time to finish my paintings is always my main challenge, and can often come with really late work nights, working between class schedules, or even painting while eating meals,” said Lewandowski. “Sometimes areas have to be painted over and redone if mistakes with color or proportion are made.”
A year’s worth of hard work was considered by six Exhibition judges recruited outside the community that have graduated from Sacred Heart five to ten years prior. Students were awarded with honorable mentions in varied categories, including foundation courses like drawing and design.
“For me, my artwork is not only part of my job but an extension of who I am,” said Lewandowski. “It is validating to know that my hard work is paying off and that I am improving as an artist.”
“Every year is a big success,” said Scerbo. “Everyone has a different style of art, and it’s a big diverse group of artists who get to show off their best work. It’s a fantastic opportunity for all ages because it gives the artists the confidence to have people judge it.”
Source: Ashley Hilliard, Staff Photographer and Writer
The exhibition will be available for people to visit until April 5, and it is located outside of the Edgerton Center for Performing Arts.
