An art exhibition highlighting the work of soon-to-graduate Stony Brook University students in the art department delighted viewers during the 2019 Senior Show on May 2 at the Paul W. Zuccaire Gallery.
Video installations, sculptures, paintings and quirkier pieces like a painted jean jacket, were on full display in the gallery, located in the Staller Center for the Arts.
“It’s always a pleasure to see work from different areas of art,” said Ian Paul, a studio art faculty member who specializes in digital media.
The room quickly filled after opening at 4 pm. Thanks to a small reception area outside the gallery, attendants also feasted on small snacks like brownies and cakes.
Throughout two-hour long reception, a myriad of enthusiastic attendants: students, parents, professors and faculty chatted about the artwork. Some people posed in front of their favorites to snap a quick selfie, while others spent longer huddled around them, considering their meanings.
“I don’t really understand the abstract nature of some this work,” said Chris Cintron, a student and participant of the event. “But it’s good that artists have an outlet to express themselves.”
Free and open to the public, this year’s Senior Show coincided with the Stony Brook URECA Art Exhibition. The joint show highlighted a combination of paintings, sculptures, ceramics, prints, photographs, digital media, mixed-media installations and works on paper, all to celebrate the immense talent of the University’s undergraduate artists.
“I’m blown away by the talent here,” said Howard Gunston, Director of Facility Operations for the Student Activities Center. Mr. Gunston, who puts on similar student art shows in the SAC, hopes to learn a thing or two from the show.
The Senior Show was open to any senior undergraduate Studio Art majors or minors, Digital Art minors, Media Arts minors or Multidisciplinary Studies majors with a concentration in Studio Art. Each artist was allowed to submit up to 3 works.
The URECA art exhibition was sponsored by Undergraduate Research & Creative Activities (URECA) and was featured as a part of the Shirley Strum Kenny Student Arts Festival. Open to any undergraduate artist, art faculty members nominated the strongest work by the young artists.
“The critical thing about art on campuses is that students work all of their education in their artwork. Whatever they end up being, an experience like this allow students to go from an idea to expression,” said Amy Cook, Chair of the Art Department. “Students use art to work through change and a volatile period in their lives. I’ve met students who found themselves through their art. I mean, what other department exists where you can take your parents to see your work on the wall”.
The Senior Show 2019 lasts from May 2-24, 2019. Gallery Hours & Information can be found online.
–Kevin Wu
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