The Juried Student Art Exhibition’s opening ceremony on May 1 had 265 attendees within the first hour, making it one of the most attended in recent years.
The 75 art pieces, which consisted of ceramics, paintings and mixed media, were accepted by a jury made up of faculty members and selected out of 129 submissions.
“The curation of the gallery is collaborative. The theme for this exhibition was all students and we really try to organize the exhibition in a way to give each piece enough space and even have a dialogue between the pieces,” art gallery manager Karla Aguiniga said.
Many of the featured artists were first year students and experienced their first time being displayed in an art gallery.
Student artists Hannah Justesen, left, and Ashlyn Hairston, right, talk about Justesen’s piece, “Visceral” at the Juried Student Art Exhibition at LAC in the K-Building on May 1. (Enrique Martinez)
Art on display ranged a multitude of topics, including politics, self-reflection and female anatomy.
“My piece is a wet floor sign and I thought we always see these signs and walk past them, and I felt the same way about immigrants. As a society, we look past their hardships and hard work and just keep moving,” Pablo Rodriguez Villegas said about his piece, “Wetback” which was heavily influenced by the current political state under the Trump administration.
Rodriguez Villegas noted that he found himself scared under the current administration and realized art is used to express emotions.
Art piece “Wetback” by featured artist Juan Pablo Rodriguez Villegas, is displayed at the Juried Student Art Exhibition at LAC in the K-Building on May 8. (Enrique Martinez)
“I can’t live scared and I had to put all of my fear somewhere,” Rodriguez Villegas said.
Another first year student, Gage Vaughn, was featured in the gallery setting for the first time due to the encouragement of his professor, Chris Chinn.
“I did a charcoal still life piece for the class and he really liked it and held onto it, and then submitted it to the gallery,” Vaughn said.
Vaughn attended the exhibit with his two friends, Deshawn Mitchell and Joseph Vigen.
“I really hope people stop to take a minute to have a second and look at it,” Vaughn said.
Both Mitchell and Vigen expressed their happiness for their friend as his work was highlighted in the exhibit.
“I’m happy for him, he’s one of my closest friends so this is really cool for him,” Mitchell said.
The exhibit is open for viewing through May 31 and the closing ceremony will announce the three winners of the $2000 prizes.