By: Carrie Ratkevich, Staff Reporter
Art majors enrolled in the Art Career Concerns class are showing off their work this month in the gallery exhibition, “Progressence.”
John G. Snee presented “8-Ball, Silver Cup” which was white charcoal on black paper. The piece was striking, with an interesting use of white on black. He is currently working on more pieces that have an element of reflection, he said.
Robert Thomas IV presented two works, entitled “Eve” and “Tigris.” Both pieces are ink and watercolor on paper. Thomas is inspired by Japanese art styles, he said.
“Eve” is an intricate explosion of color depicting a female entwined by a snake.
“At the end, it just kind of looked like the Adam and Eve thing. Kind of the taking of the fruit, so it is titled ‘Eve’,” said Thomas.
The idea of “Tigris” is a canvas within a canvas that depicts a woman with a tiger tattoo, said Thomas.
Created by Fabian Pedroza, “Frame of Mind” is like looking into a painting within a painting. It was created with India ink on paper, while he was dealing with some personal issues, he said. The design is intricate and seems alive.
“Choices” and “Let Us Prey” are both mixed media collages created by Crystal Perea. She created them for her Print Making 2 class, she said. “Let Us Prey” offers a sharp contrast of black, gray and white with bright orange shapes that make the piece pop. “Choices” though just as striking, is a bit softer in the use of color. The piece was created as a final project for her Print Making 2 class, she said.
“The inspiration here is freedom with artwork and the ability to do anything with pieces and putting them together,” said Perea.
“Red Tower” was created during the winter break when artist Baadford Erikson had nothing to do. He had no art supplies, so he picked up his tablet and started making digital paintings, he said. A lot of his art is in digital format and he uses a digital photograph as reference while he creates the paintings in another program, he said.
“Until I get them printed they don’t really exist,” said Erikson.
Once he prints a piece he destroys the digital file to maintain the integrity of his work, he said. He likes to use muted colors which pull in the viewer. “Red Tower” returned from the printer with the color slightly off, but Erikson liked the way the colors had changed and kept it that way, he said.
“Progressence” will be open through April 27 at the Downtown Contemporary Gallery at 105 Fourth Street. The gallery is open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:30 p.m. – 6 p.m., and Saturdays from noon – 4 p.m.
