Students will showcase their artistic talent at the Student Art Exhibition in the Pauly Friedman Art Gallery March 13 through 23.
Fine arts professors selected pieces of their students’ collections of artwork that they feel showed exceptional ability.
“The works are selected by the individual instructors,” said ceramics instructor Howard Sensbach.
Instructors use their own professional judgment to select artwork for the showcase.
“I would kind of go through and if there’s a piece I see is good enough to go in the show I just pull it to the side,” said Sensbach.
Sensbach has been helping to organize the exhibition since its start last year, and he hopes to continue showing students’ work to the community.
All pieces are the work of students taking studio art classes from last spring through this semester. They include works from painting, drawing and ceramics classes.
“This semester we’re hoping to include jewelry and printmaking,” said Sensbach.
Printmaking and jewelry classes were a new addition to the course catalog for the start of the 2013 spring semester.
Unlike past exhibitions in the Pauly Friedman Art Gallery, like the Norman Rockwell’s 323 Saturday Evening Post Covers, the Student Art Exhibition has no theme and limits of medium.
The exhibit is a mix of mediums from paint to prints. It also has a mix of themes, such as self-portraits. It is based on assignments students completed in class.
“I guess the theme would be whatever the creativity of Misericordia students and showcasing those talents,” said Sensbach.
Exhibiting artist and senior communications major Matt Wielgopolski is one of three students graduating this May with a fine arts minor. He wants to go into graphic design upon graduation and feels his fine art minor will give him an edge over other students.
“I feel it really helped me hone my skills,” said Wielgpolski.
Wielgopolski will have printmaking and sculpture in the exhibit.
“It’s an honor for people to see your work. It gets you out there,” he said.
Posted explanations of each piece of artwork is an addition to this yea’s exhibit. Pieces that the instructors feel need more explanation will feature placard to explain the origin of the piece, whether it was a result of a strict assignment or the result of the artists’ creativity when they were able to create their own assignments.
Sensbach said viewers need background information to fully understand the pieces, particularly because students created all of the works during class time. “The feedback I got was that people wanted to know that information,” said Sensbach.
Instructors used the same process galleries throughout the world use to organize exhibits and select artwork.
They consider how the art will look in the given room and try not to overfill the space. “It’s not arranged per class; it’s arranged like a normal art show. How does the work flow through the room?”
Organizers were arrange artwork around the Pauly Friedman Art Gallery in a way that is most aesthetically pleasing to the viewer.
A “Meet the Artists” opening reception will be held March 16 from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. by the fine arts department.