Scattered among the School of Art’s Green Hall gallery are black and white photographs by Gabriela Margarita de Jesús ’14, including a curly-headed toddler with cat-eye sunglasses and a close-up of a chandelier made of crystals and chrome.
Seventeen seniors have created projects now on display at the gallery, completing the final component of the undergraduate art major. The exhibit, titled “Assembly,” showcases work in a variety of media, including painting, sculpture, printmaking, performance, photography, installation and digital pieces. Participants said that the show allowed them to engage with art in an intimate setting and use their talents to depict personal interests in a visually appealing manner.
The show features an area dedicated to the sculptures, both free-standing and wall-mounted, of Johanna Flato ’14, in which she mixed AstroTurf, scrap metal, burlap, cardboard and cement.
“To me, one of the most incredible parts of this process was just the deep studio engagement,” said Flato said. “It was truly special to have a personal space I could go to everyday, all day, make mine, be inspired, and plug away at a project that was the culmination of my time here.”
In the adjacent space, photographic prints by Jen Mulrow ’14 present a haunted, dream-like vision of suburbia — a dollhouse nestled among metallic building insulation; a figure crouched underneath a covering of delicate white lace; an empty twilight streetscape below a crisscross of telephone wires.
Just across from Mulrow’s photographs are paintings by Larissa Pham ’14, which, according to the artist’s statement, “stem from photographs that were taken with [her] phone.” One of the vertical canvases features fields of pink and purple punctuated by rich bursts of salmon-white paint. A smaller canvas, flecked with glitter and no bigger than a sheet of printer paper, features thick, deeply pigmented swirls. Dividing the small and large pieces is bright plastic lettering that spells the phrase “the hot mouth of your sleep,” and a sofa-size cushion topped with a trio of clementines sits on the floor below.
Yinan Song ’14, another participant, explained that her project was inspired by her experience double-majoring in art and political science. She added that she was influenced by projects she has already completed in both disciplines, including her senior essay on international travel restrictions on Chinese citizens as well as a graphic design project on a similar topic.
“I made an interactive, web piece to condense my research findings and hoped to introduce the issue to the rest of the world in a more engaging way,” Song noted.
Ryan Cavataro ’14, another contributor, said he was glad to see many attendees at the opening reception on April 12.
“Assembly” is on view at 1156 Chapel St. through April 23.