The annual Senior Art Major Exhibition will open in the Wriston Art Center Fri., May 25. The show features the artwork of eight senior studio art majors, and will include every medium offered by the art department: ceramics, sculpture, painting, printing, drawing, photography, metals and glass.
Senior Clare Raccuglia specializes in sculpture. Friday she will reveal a large-scale sculpture, her installment in the show.
She explained that the art displayed will be the students’ advanced work, rather than samples of their art from each year. Most of the artists will only display one or two pieces, depending on the medium and size of the piece.
“The senior art show is a capstone project, very much like an honors project,” Raccuglia reflected. It will showcase “the culminating work of four years at Lawrence.”
“It’s very exciting!” Raccuglia said enthusiastically. “It’s a chance to see your friends’ art, and perhaps get a chance to ask the artist what he or she was thinking when creating the piece.”
The show provides invaluable experience for the artists. It functions as “a nice starting point for those who want to continue in the art world,” Raccuglia said.
Along with the experience of the show, the eight senior art majors are equipped with considerable knowledge about the art world from the senior seminar they all took this year.
Raccuglia described the senior seminar as “the most useful class I’ve taken at Lawrence.” In it, the students learned about the practicality – or lack thereof – of living as a working artist. They also discussed how to get studio and gallery space, and how to begin to sell their work.
Many of the senior artists have exhibited artwork on campus at different points during their four years here. Some have also ventured to galleries outside of Appleton.
Beyond the exciting new artwork, the Senior Art Major Exhibition is a wonderfully social event. Students and faculty get a change to schmooze, drink wine, and discuss art.
Throughout the four years, the art professors have guided the student artists in their studies, as well as in shaping their artistic creations.
Assistant Professors of Art Rob Neilson, sculpture; Ben Rinehart, painting and drawing; John Shimon and Julie Lindemann, photography; and fellow Valerie Zimany, ceramics, all played integral roles in the organization of the show.
The opening reception for the art exhibit begins at 6 p.m. The show will run through Aug. 5.
Raccuglia suggests returning after the opening to look more closely at the artwork, when there is less socializing in and around the gallery. That being said, the opening is especially exciting, and in years past has always been a well-attended event.
Usher in this Memorial Day weekend with style by following Raccuglia’s good advice: “Come check it out!”
Regular Wriston Art Gallery hours are Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. and Saturday-Sunday, noon – 4 p.m. The galleries are closed Mondays.
Seniors art majors display their finest
