Art history major/graduating senior Hunter Moore grew up interested in paintings, particularly works centered around fallen angels and other religion-inspired themes. This past semester she explored these subjects in her own work, putting paint to canvas in her acrylic landscape she called Beginning of the End, and also casting bronze into a mold she created of a goat she said symbolized “how animals have often been symbols for sinful urges in the Catholic religion.”
Art major/biology minor Juno Stuelke uses his art to explore and deal with personal issues of mental health and well-being, demonstrating what depression can feel and “look” like and using it as an outlet to better cope. He spent two months last semester putting together his piece called Manic, which he said “depicts my journey from a child to now and the effects depression has had on my life.”
These are just three of the nearly 150 pieces of student art displayed at Zuccaire Gallery’s annual Senior Show and URECA Art Exhibition on the first floor of the Staller Center. Every year, this show allows students to share their work with other students, faculty, staff and the outside community. Many win awards beyond this honor and exposure. And there is the opportunity for artists to sell their pieces and/or have them displayed at various sites, including in the administrative offices of the president, provost, student affairs and the dean of College of Arts and Sciences (CAS). The nearby Gallery North art gallery also presents awards.
Zuccaire Gallery Director and Curator Karen Levitov said, “The Senior Show and URECA Student Art Exhibition is always our most popular exhibition. The students are proud to have their work displayed in the Zuccaire Gallery and visitors love to see the amazing student work. This year we have more work than ever before and some really terrific pieces.” There were also more sculptures, including bronze, metal, ceramic, wood and mixed media, and record-breaking attendance at the opening reception, with 250 art enthusiasts taking part.
Georgia LaMair Tomczak is senior manager, community engagement and gallery operations for the Zuccaire Gallery and Staller Center for the Arts. She explained that the exhibition “is a wonderful opportunity for students of the College of Arts and Sciences Department of Art to showcase the skills they’ve learned from their time at Stony Brook and to be recognized by university leadership. I love hosting the exhibition at the Zuccaire Gallery, where every year I get to watch undergraduate students come together to celebrate their accomplishments with faculty, friends and family.”
Jason Paradis, professor of practice who coordinates the URECA Art Exhibition, added, “I’m always impressed by the ability of our students to exceed our expectations in quality and concept for the work they create.” He said this year’s URECA display, where student work is by faculty selection only, “was the largest gathering of nominated work since I started coordinating the exhibition five years ago.”
With more than 50 works representing painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, digital arts, video and mixed media, Paradis, who also serves as the inaugural faculty fellow for the CAS Arts Everywhere Initiative, said “the surge in numbers reflects our continually growing studio department and commitment of the faculty and students alike.”
In SBU’s true interdisciplinary fashion, the URECA works are not only by art majors and minors, but students from all academic disciplines. And while all of the students in the Senior Show are studio art majors or minors, some also major or minor in media/art/culture, digital arts, art history as well as environmental studies, computer science, health sciences, economics, mechanical engineering, psychology, history, information systems engineering, biochemistry, linguistics and Japanese studies.
University leadership support is also a large part of these events. SBU’s president, provost, vice president for Student Affairs, the dean of CAS and advancement all select artwork for the awards.
“There have been so many opportunities this year for our talented students, faculty and staff to showcase their impressive works of art in numerous venues, and I’ve been honored to attend many of them in support of the creative work that’s being done in our community,” said David Wrobel, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “More than ever, it’s important to support the arts, and I’m thrilled that the College’s Arts Everywhere Initiative will continue to elevate the presence of creative works in all areas of the university. These types of efforts assure that the arts continue to remain vibrant, supported and celebrated in our community.”
Vice President for Student Affairs Rick Gatteau, an exhibition “frequent flyer,” agreed, claiming, “I love seeing the arts alive at Stony Brook! We have an incredibly talented and passionate community of artists here, and I’m grateful for the faculty mentors who play an integral role in our students’ success.”
Stuelke said the thrill of being showcased at Zuccaire — “it’s so big and so exciting to have my work displayed among my peers’ amazing work” — was amplified by his feelings of gratitude toward the professor who nominated his piece. “This professor means a lot to me and has helped me a lot with my work. So it meant a lot to me that she thought my piece was good enough, and technically experimental enough, to be in the research show.”
The wind beneath Stuelke’s wings is Lorena Salcedo-Watson, professor of practice in drawing and printmaking in the Department of Art. “It is always an honor to be able to select excellent and important work to represent our wonderful students in the URECA exhibition,” she said. “I think about URECA each semester, making mental notes of works that deeply impact me on a technical, conceptual, and emotional level. My time with my students often coincides with powerful developmental phases and moments of awareness, as well as hardship in our students’ lives. I try to give them space to explore these meaningful issues through their creative work. I am honored to be a part of their journey. I value them, I cheer for them, and respect their struggles and successes. It is wonderful that our university does as well.”
Moore, who also works at the Zuccaire Gallery, summed up her personal experience like this: “I’m really proud to have my work displayed here, at the main gallery on campus, and I’m actually selling a piece. It feels way more professional, and getting to see people looking around at the art and analyzing MY work is such a great and special feeling.”
NOTE: While the URECA show closed on May 9, the Senior Show is on view through Thursday, May 23, during Zuccaire Gallery hours of 12 pm to 4 pm or by appointment. The Zuccaire Gallery is located on the first floor of the Staller Center and is free and open to the public.
— Ellen Cooke
Photos by Nick Castellano, Ellen Cooke, Henry O’Brien and Georgia LaMair Tomczak
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