From Dec. 9 to Jan. 12, Spingold’s Dreitzer Gallery housed this year’s Senior Mid-Year Exhibition. This exhibition featured a stunning display of a wide variety of art produced by Studio Art seniors, including everything from photography, sculpture, pop art, abstract, collage and more.
As soon as one walked down the right-hand staircase of the gallery, the impressive talent of Brandeis’ art majors was boldly asserted, with the walls elegantly dressed with neat frames, sculptures placed throughout the open floor and the vast array of color treating the viewer to an endlessly fascinating experience. The first display of art was placed on the wall to the right to the stairs—the photography of Yeng Her ’16. The large photos were divided into page-sized sections, giving the illusion that one was looking at the jungle-like forest scene through a paned window. The vibrancy of the greens laced with yellows and shocking red primed the viewer’s eyes for the rest of the artwork to come.
Although all the art students worked throughout the year in close vicinity to one another, there was absolutely no repetition in theme or technique; every piece was captivatingly original. One of the most unique art displays was that of Cesar Pineda ’16, whose vibrant oil paintings, reminiscent of Basquiat’s contemporary graffiti style, featured an international flare. Pineda’s most prominent piece was a massive canvas painting that hung on the wall. It illustrated two figures, one of which was a Buddha dressed in the traditional azure robe, and the other was the bare chest of a muscular man with head that wore the face of a simple “surprised” emoticon. In the background of these contrasting figures were the lyrics of a monologue from a song by T.I. In speaking with Pineda, he described his method of painting as wanting to be able to work in the moment and paint anything that sparked his emotions or struck his interest at a particular time, such as aspects of pop culture.
Pineda noted that being in a class with such astounding artists was quite inspiring, and one such inspiration was fellow student Thomas Hearne ’16. Just a few paces beyond Pineda’s work hung Hearne’s oil painting that captivates the viewer, especially one with an eye for ancient Greek art. The paint seemed to hold an ominous aura, as the viewer is immediately drawn to the three smooth, marble-white figures whose bodies are tangled among one another yet still appear to be yearning toward the sky with outstretched arms. In the background, the fiery orange sky is largely obscured by a thick column of dark gray smoke that rises from a volcano. It seemed as though the suffering of the three humans is embodied within the smoke of the volcano.
However, Hearne’s entrancing piece was not the only one to exude a darker vibe. In fact, just beyond the next wall of the gallery was a painting by Julia Jeon ’16. The painting was of a night-time cityscape scene, and in the background against the black sky loomed three brightly-colored, towering monsters all gazing down at the city with eyes that hinted at gleeful savagery. In the foreground, scrawled in crimson, graffiti-like script were the words, “God is Still Here.” These words, in combination with the three monsters, gave the impression that a dark truth about the nature and fate of humanity lurks just below the surface of the paint. Yet to the right, another painting was placed which contrasts the mood of the previous scene completely by displaying a bright collection of geometrical houses, all designed with different windows, and all fitting together like pieces of a puzzle. The overall effect of the simple, geometric shapes is the creation of order within chaos.
One could go on and on describing the fantastic artwork nestled within the gallery, from the gorgeous, colorful string sculpture that laced a corner of the room like a spider’s web, to the large canvas and hanging frames that were literally dripping with wild colors of melted wax—though hardened in time for display, of course. There is no doubt that Brandeis boasts a wide spectrum of incredible talent, and the next art show, which will contain the final works of the art majors before graduation, is an absolutely must-see event.
