Colby-Sawyer College Hosts Exhibition of Works by Eight Senior Students
The Colby-Sawyer College Fine and Performing Arts Department will host its annual Senior Art Exhibition featuring students' work in a variety of media including ceramics, graphic design, painting, printmaking, photography and sculpture.
This annual exhibit features more than 85 works created by Colby-Sawyer's Studio Art and Graphic Design majors. The works illustrate the seniors' growth as artists and represent a high level of professionalism. The show will open with a reception on Thursday, April 15, at 7 p.m. in the Marian Graves Mugar Art Gallery in Sawyer Center. The reception will include the presentation of merit and purchase awards. Refreshments will be served, and the free event is open to the public. It will continue through May 8. The gallery is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
At the opening reception, the Presidential Purchase Award will be presented to a student artist whose work will become part of the college's permanent collection. The Susan C. Harp Memorial Purchase Award will be awarded to a graphic designer whose piece will also join the college's permanent collection.
Seniors whose work is featured in this year's exhibition include Alicia Foss of Greensboro, Vt.; Michaela Iannazzi of Andover, Mass; Elaina Kennedy of Sunderland, Mass.; Anthony Marrone of Tamworth, N.H.; Abbie Morse of Littleton, Mass.; Jessica Murphy of Hingham, Mass.; Kelly Saukas of Syracuse, N.Y.; and Kat Stewart of Windsor, Conn.
The eight seniors represent five disciplines. Alicia Foss, Abbie Morse, Jessica Murphy and Kelly Saukas are all graphic design majors, while Michaela Iannazzi concentrated in printmaking; Elaina Kennedy in painting and education; Anthony Marrone in ceramics and Kat Stewart in photography.
“All eight seniors will exhibit works from their specific disciplines. They will also enhance the overall show through exhibiting a variety of high-quality works from their other studio areas,” says Loretta Barnett, professor of Fine and Performing Arts and chair of the department. “Our seniors' work is informed by all of their art courses; their rich liberal arts education affords them the opportunity to draw from myriad conceptual sources.”
Foss, who completed a graphic/web design internship with Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in Becket, Mass., last summer, will have 10 pieces in the show, including six samples of her graphic design work plus two digital collages, a watercolor and a pastel. In her artist's statement, Foss describes graphic design as “a mental exercise for the entire brain” and says that much of her work focuses on the relationships between positive and negative space and between figure and ground.
“Ambiguous shapes and abstract representations, which cause the viewer to think about what is being shown, are common components to my designs,” says Foss. “I use grid systems to organize these shapes and representations, in combination with type, on the page. This creates order within the design. My artwork in other mediums tends to focus on organic shapes, which contrast with the strong grids I use in my design work.”
Ceramics artist Anthony Marrone has 21 pieces in the show including vases, dinnerware sets, bowls and more. Marrone intended to concentrate in photography in the Fine and Performing Arts Department, but after two studio classes in ceramics, he knew it was the right medium for him. “I enjoy the process of creating art directly from the mud of the earth,” he says. Marrone completed an internship at Wellhouse Farm Pottery Studio in Springfield, N.H., where he is a substitute pottery teacher. He is looking into graduate school opportunities for next fall.
The majority of the pieces in the show are for sale, many under $100, and many more in the $100-$150 range while one charcoal, acrylic and pastel piece by Jessica Murphy is offered for $500.
To learn about other upcoming events at Colby-Sawyer College visit www.colby-sawyer.edu/events
Colby-Sawyer, founded in 1837, is a comprehensive liberal arts and sciences college located in the scenic Lake Sunapee Region of central New Hampshire. Students learn in small classes through a select array of programs that integrate the liberal arts and sciences with professional experience.
Colby-Sawyer College, 541 Main Street, New London, N.H. 03257 (603) 526-3000
