The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery at the College of the Holy Cross will show the work of graduating senior visual arts majors in the exhibition “Amalgam,” which will be exhibited from Thursday, April 28 through Friday, May 27. Students Michael Allen, Liz Baker, Rebecca Blackwell, John Gallagher, Sarah Kane and Caroline O'Day will give presentations about their work in the gallery during the Academic Conference on Wednesday, April 27 at noon; the opening reception will be held on Thursday, April 28, 5:30–7 p.m.
Visual arts students who have participated in the year-long senior concentration seminar, a capstone course experience for the visual arts major, are given the opportunity to exhibit a body of work they have developed over the course of both the fall and spring semesters. Each student is given an individual studio space and encouraged to experiment with ideas and mediums, and guided through a process of cultivating an independent studio practice.
Students engage in rigorous critiques with faculty, visiting artists, and Roger Hankins, director of the Cantor Art Gallery, to not only push their work to its highest potential, but to also consider and conceptualize how it will exist in a formal exhibition space. The exhibition provides these students with the experience of seeing their work transform through a professional presentation in relation to the work of their peers, as well as through the reception of a public audience.
“For visual art majors, this is the defining moment in which they transition from thinking of themselves as students to seeing themselves as artists,” explains Cristi Rinklin, associate professor of visual arts and instructor for the second semester of the seminar.
Michael Allen’s interest in Japanese anime, video game animation and storytelling is the inspiration for his installation. Liz Baker created a series of photo and painting based studies of family, shelter and service dogs that seeks to reveal the essence of these canine personalities. Rebecca Blackwell produced large-scale photographic portraits of characters based in Greek mythology, using make-up and other materials to transform her subjects into symbolic representations of the gods, with Aphrodite and Artemis among them. Jack Gallagher’s work employs analog drawing and digital manipulation to create illusory diorama landscapes that are both realistic and alien. Sarah Kane constructs colorful, atmospheric and immersive environments using decorative lights, translucent fabrics, and reflective materials, which entice the viewer with their dream-like qualities. Caroline O’Day combines selected fabrics with repetitive patterns, simplified figures, and provocative text to challenge audiences through subversive humor.
“These students produce a very engaging show, one that reflects the intellectual and aesthetic growth of each of them,” says Hankins.
In conjunction with the senior exhibition, Susan Elizabeth Sweeney, associate professor of English, will host the annual celebration of senior creative writing concentrators in the Cantor Art Gallery alongside the work of their visual arts peers on Thursday, May 5th from 4–5 p.m.
EVENTS
- Academic Conference presentation by senior visual art majors Wednesday, April 27, noon–1 p.m.
- Opening reception Thursday, April 28, 5:30–7 p.m.
- A celebration of senior creative writing concentrators Thursday, May 5, 4–5 p.m.
Gallery Information
Founded in 1983 through the generosity of Iris & B. Gerald Cantor, the Cantor Art Gallery serves both as a venue for a changing series of historical and contemporary public exhibitions, as well as a vital resource for Holy Cross faculty and students, linking exhibitions to the broader liberal arts curriculum.
The hours for the Cantor Art Gallery are Monday–Friday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. and Saturdays noon–5 p.m. Located in O’Kane Hall, 1st Floor, College of the Holy Cross, 1 College Street, Worcester, Mass., 01610. Visitors needing assistance with handicap accessibility should contact Public Safety at 508-793-2011. Admission to the gallery is free.
For additional information please call 508-793-3356 or visit the Gallery’s website.
