By Rene Thompson, Staff Reporter
Student art exhibit opens
For many Art majors, the Known Unknowns art show is the first gallery exhibit they experience.
The show, which opened earlier this month, features artwork from 21 students in this spring’s Art Career Concerns class, Danielle Miller, Art instructor, said.
This exhibition, which opened on April 5 at the Downtown Contemporary Gallery, features the work of several local student artists attending CNM, with various styles and approaches that form a diverse collection of works, she said.
“These students from Art Career Concerns class are required in their degrees to learn how to exhibit their art in a real art show, so we have these events to give them the experience of learning how to get their art up for other people to see and have their art for sale so they know how to market their work in a gallery,” she said.
The pieces include everything from drawing and paintings – even on skateboards, to printmaking, naturalism, and abstract projects; showcasing the emerging talent in the Albuquerque area, she said.
Dania Heeter’s mandala-style paintings, which use symmetry on each side, had renditions of fairy tale characters such as Rapunzel, Rumpelstiltskin, and Hansel and Gretel. They were inspired by old folk art imagery with simple colors and two-dimensional depiction, she said.
Heeter said that her three pieces each took her anywhere from two to three weeks to finish.
Inka Murkowski’s said her pieces were inspired by maps and globes, and used vivid colors to symbolize space and distance.
“I wanted to take maps, which are usually used for utility, and bring out the aesthetically pleasing contrasts, and circles always seem to be a recurring theme in my work,” Murkowski said.
Emily Watson’s many pieces were done in realism with scratchboard and depicted an array of eyes from different species. The pieces showed an extreme close-up of a person’s, frog’s, goat’s, bee’s and alligator’s eye.
“I chose to do these particular eyes because each of them are so different, and each piece took anywhere from a few hours to a few days to finish,” Watson said.
The Known Unknowns Exhibition will run until April 26 at the Downtown Contemporary Gallery at 105 Fourth Street. SW.
For more information, go to downtowncontemporary.com/ gallery.html.
