Displayed in Dowd, One Last Time
Seniors’ Santa Clara careers culminate in personal, impactful works of art
It’s not often that student art breaks into the coveted domain of Dowd Hall’s main gallery. But to finish out each academic year, senior studio artists get the opportunity to do just that: exhibit their work in Dowd’s prominent first-floor exhibition room, which is now brimming with new curiosities.
From now until June 16th, 17 talented seniors will feature their art and showcase the culmination of their growth as artists at Santa Clara.
The exhibit features seven more artists than last year, each finding a small portion of the gallery to call their own. The pieces span sculpture, painting, digital illustration, photography and mixed digital media. Artists shared statements, which can be read via a binder while viewing, which illuminate their inspiration, experience and hope for the work.
“Art shows can often feel stuffy, distant or even boring. But as I strolled through the gallery, I immediately understood I was witnessing work that is deeply meaningful to each artist, a fact that clearly manifests itself in the art. ”
Each project takes on issues and experiences of the current moment with precision and strength.
The sheer breadth of creative expression is a key part of what makes this a consistently compelling art show. Each senior has a visual and experiential world of their own that they channel into their work. The following installations are just a few of the many brilliant works on display.
Charlotte Holder offers a trio of acrylic paintings. Dubbed “Handprinted,” this series includes three depictions of the human form, each with a distinct color theme. Each subject has a handprint on their body and appears to be hiding or concealing themselves from the viewer. Holder notes that “true representation of the female figure is hard to come by,” and that they hoped to create art that offered just that.
“I set out to create a body of work that centers misrepresented and undervalued bodies that were previously stripped of a space such as this,” Holder said in their statement. “I couldn’t find a place for myself, so I created one.”
Andrew Kekoa Johnson has on display five oil paintings on wood canvases, with surreal depictions of subjects that have all in some way morphed with the ocean. Reminiscent of Salvador Dalí, these pieces are intricately constructed and skillfully colored. In their poetically penned statement, Johnson recalls a near-mystical experience at sea that spurred their creativity.
“There I was met with a driftwood face, both soft and rigid, with seafoam brows and pearlescent eyes,” Johnson writes. “The setting sun came to rest on its cheek with a blush of scarlet.”
It’s this prose that goes on to inspire each piece, most of which incorporate sea creatures, having their features melt into human ones.
Xinyi Guan offers four oil paintings, using an impasto technique that gives each canvas texture and dimension. Each frame utilizes deep hues and earth tones, creating a sense of both history and calm. Guan composed each frame outside (plein-air painting), transposing the familiar Santa Clara scenery directly onto the canvas. The nature of the painting’s style makes for a deeply nostalgic feel, taking what many regard as everyday scenery as sacrosanct.
“I am drawn to the energy and excitement of more spontaneous, dynamic brush strokes and color combinations,” Guan says of their painting style.
“I aim to capture the essence of life on the canvas, fueled by viewers’ inspiration to appreciate the world around us.”
Alexis Brull presents two large sculptural pieces, “Escape from the Crocodile” and “Flavor of the Month,” both of which use visual metaphors to comment on racial injustice. For the latter, Brull sought to “demonstrate the profound effects of microaggressions.” The piece features six scaled-up Oreos, stacked with colorful fillings in rainbow order. The final Oreo, which leans up on the stack, has the word “Performative” engraved in the middle.
“It prompts contemplation on how power dynamics and influences intersect between different communities,” Brull details, “acknowledging the complexities of history and the complications arising from corporate profiteering.”
Wylie Merritt’s “This Party Sucks” features two satirical birthday cards, highlighting the mind-boggling amount of carbon emitted, trash produced and freshwater consumed by companies Exxonmobil and Disney. The installation features an array of trash and birthday party decorations chalk full on two pillars and overflowing onto the floor, driving home the sheer excess and negligence of these corporations.
“The contrast between the medium–something viewers are very accustomed to consuming, and the message–something they are rarely forced to confront, makes an impression”
“This is my way of bringing the corporate design and fine art worlds together, creating something in line with my values of environmentalism and climate justice.”