Pace Art Gallery, located in Choate House, opened its doors this past Thurs. Dec. 6 for the final art show of the fall 2012 semester.
The initial three and a half hour reception welcomed faculty, students, and staff to see the displayed artwork of three students who worked to create the exhibit entitled “An Exploration of Strength and Society.” These three students, Veronica Goin, India Burgess, and Alexandra LePage, were enrolled in a course called Project Studio.
Project Studio is a class that is not held on any regular schedule but rather depends on the art majors and minors who want to further practice in a specific medium. During the fall 2012 semester the course was conducted by adjunct art professor Kate Marohn.
“I am the gallery curator so though I do not always teach the course I usually have a hand in the installation process. Learning to compile and exhibit a cohesive body of work is an important focus of the course,” Professor Marohn said.
Of the three artists, Veronica Goin, a senior art and English major, was the only one who worked solely in one medium for this project. Her collection of work that is part of the exhibit is all open and standard acrylic paint on handmade canvases.
“The focus of my pieces is on female strength and empowerment,” said Goin. “They’re all my favorite.”
Goin has been featured in several art exhibits throughout her time at Pace as well as had pieces of both art and poetry published in the previous editions of VOX Literary Magazine.
Senior art major India Burgess worked in several different branches of art for her collection in this art show including drawing, painting, oil pastels, and digital design.
“My aim was to show the importance of our voice in society,” Burgess said. “There are several sociological problems in our world today and that’s why it’s so important that we use our freedoms as American citizens toward change in our nation and the world.”
Burgess has also been featured in a number of other art shows including one that displayed on her work from an independent study course she took with Professor Marohn and one as a student presented with other students.
Of her several pieces of this art show, Burgess’s favorite is entitled “1 vs. 99”
“My favorite piece is the “1 vs. 99.” I had heard the phrase that the 1% is greater than the 99 and I wanted to find a creative way to display just that. I enjoyed using several mediums to create the picture and I love that it displays the tyranny in our society in a different way.”
Burgess additionally has been published in VOX.
The final artist that has work represented in this art show is Alexandra La Page. As a senior art major, La Page also included many mediums to build her gallery.
Some of the methods that La Page worked in include charcoal, black and white photography, craypas, pastels, acrylic and oil paints, and pencil. She even incorporated the use of dry point and construction paper.
“Ironically, my other favorite piece I created the day before the installation. It combines a black and white photo I printed in high school with technology. In Matthew Ganis’s Introduction to Information Technology class this semester, we were introduced to Arduinos, a prototyping platform,” La Page said. “I take a lot of pride in this as well because I have never incorporated technology or anything like this into my art before and I am really excited to go into greater depth with these Arduinos in Project Studio B next semester.”
La Page has also had her art work shown in student art shows on campus including the student art show last semester.
There is a total of twenty-five works of art shown in the exhibit. While the pieces of art covered many different mediums, the collection was able to combine to tell the stories of the artists wanted to portray.
Last week’s opening brought in close to thirty people, a great turnout. The artwork will remain on display until Dec. 14.
“I have found this show to be a particularly rewarding experience on a personal level as I have worked with each of these students in multiple classes and have really enjoyed watching them grow as artists. I am very pleased with the quality of their work and have found it has been well received for both technical achievement and content,” Marohn said.
While art majors and minors are no longer offered at Pace Pleasantville, Project Studio, the course from which the creative project were derived, will be held next semester and will be taught by Professor Duston Spears.
The Project Studio gallery is on display in Choate House Art Gallery. To view this collection of artwork, please visits Mon., Tues., Wed., and Sat. between 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. and Fri. between 12 p.m. and 6 p.m. The exhibition and reception are free to the public.
For more information about upcoming shows or how to become involved, please contact Yvette Jones at [email protected].