Whispers and wide smiles encircled Myhren Art Gallery Thursday evening for the opening of the Bachelor of Fine Arts exhibition. Surrounded by the flash of cameras, fan favor and family support, DU’s soon to be graduates’ art took center stage to welcome all to their self-created worlds.
The show features a wide array of work from students graduating from the the DU School of Art and Art History (SAAH) including photography, sculpture, installations, mixed media and painting.
The show included B.F.A. students Matthew Contos, Rachel DeBoard, Courtney Jeffery, Rachael Maisel, Brigette Nelson, Jillian Pate, Jennifer Schneider, and Caley Shoemaker.
Rupert Jenkins the editor of the Victoria H. Myhren Gallery says that though the show lacks a theme, it draws strength from uniformity in professionalism.
According to Jenkins, the B.F.A. shows offer different voices from year to year. While last year’s show was heavy on organic and tactile materials, such as tree limbs, paint and earth, this year the emphasis was placed on harder surfaces like Plexiglas and a bicycle. The show also featured two sculptural installations, one of ceramics and one of lint embedded in metal grills. The show seemed to emphasize photography despite the fact that none of the artists are photography majors.
Caley Shoemaker’s “Self,” photograph series was inspired by the work of Carl Jung and explores the connection of the mind and the body. Black and white crevasses of the human body lined with little white lines of cursive script illuminate the connotations of growth.
Courtney Jeffery, a studio arts major with a concentration in ceramics displayed a looming wall of neutral and highly textual pottery cups on the left wall of the gallery’s entry.
Last year she received a PINS grant which motivated her instillation for the BFA show. She said cups provide a functional vessel that is approachable to all sorts of people.
“With the ‘Peru Cup Series,’ I wanted to tell the story of and document my experience,” she said.
In Ayacucho I was overwhelmed with a variety of emotions, I was so excited to be there and eager to learn about the community’s history, but it was also extremely painful to see the daily struggles,” Jeffery said.
“I used each cup form to express those emotions that I can not accurately put into words. I also hope to bring awareness to this hidden community in Peru so that viewers can better understand the issues as well as celebrate their resilience.”
“Overall I was very inspired by the locals’ intense passion for art and positive attitude and I hope to communicate this with viewers,” Jeffery said. b
