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Senior Art Exhibition Opens in the Neil Britton Gallery
Students' work in ceramics, painting, photography and sculpture is on display through May 15
Featured News | April 26, 2018
By Laynee H. Timlin
Seven Virginia Wesleyan seniors showcase their special talents as part of the 2018 Senior Art Exhibition in the Neil Britton Gallery, located on campus inside Hofheimer Library. This year’s exhibition, “Up Close and Personal,” features student work in ceramics, painting, photography, and sculpture created by senior art majors Joshua Davis, Tatiana Eubanks, Carly Koenig, Riley Koenig, Lydia O'Connor, Aimelie Ronquillo, and Jennifer Taylor.
“The Senior Art Exhibition is the culmination of our art majors’ experiences and a valuable opportunity for them to display their work for audiences in a professional gallery setting,” said Professor of Art Phil Guilfoyle. “This capstone project enables them to envision, plan and create art that reflects what is meaningful to them.”
Lydia O’Connor’s pottery exhibit is based on a parable in the gospel of Mark called “The Growing Seed.” She was inspired to depict this parable using ceramics because of narratives in ancient Greek pottery and how the parable has influenced her own growth during her time at Virginia Wesleyan.
“I became intrigued with working with clay when I started to take ceramics courses at VWU,” said O’Connor. “When I studied abroad in Florence, Italy, I became even more fascinated with the culture of pottery and the uses it has in other countries.”
O’Connor has plans to be an apprentice for a potter in the Virginia Beach area after graduation from VWU in May.
Carly Koenig titled her capstone photography project “STRONG.” She searched for people who consider themselves survivors and took photos of them, depicting their strength in her photographs.
“I am a survivor and I wanted to show that survivors are all around us,” said Koenig. “We never know what someone else is going through and I wanted to make a difference through my photography in a way I knew how.”
Riley Koenig, Carly’s twin sister, chose to work with plaster and kiln cast glass to create a show of hands. Her exhibit is titled, “Personality,” with influences such as birth differences and transparency within ethnicity.
“I chose this project to shed light on the fact that people cannot tell who a person is on the inside by just looking at their hands, and if you take out the color of someone’s skin, you are not able to tell the ethnicity of another by just looking at their hands.”
After graduation, Carly and Riley plan to open a glass studio and offer classes and travel around doing what they love—together. Riley also has plans to continue her education in art therapy.
Joshua Davis created several pieces of sagger fired stoneware. His inspiration came from his observations of life and the experiences it offers.
“The beauty of rebuilt life, in all forms, motivates me to create work that embodies nature and it's triumph over many hardships,” says Davis.
Following graduation, he plans to collaborate with artists in Roanoke, VA, to help harness a respect and appreciation for nature. He also wants to pursue careers in firefighting and teaching art.
Visit the Neil Britton Gallery through May 15 to view all students’ displays in the 2018 Senior Art Exhibition.