Senior exhibits move online

Cornell’s senior studio art majors were unable to have an exhibition on campus because of the pandemic. Yet they continued to produce top quality artwork, says Associate Professor of Art Susannah Biondo-Gemmell, and they archived the work in online exhibitions. 

In addition to documentation of the artwork and creative process, each senior has included an artist statement and biography to further inform the work. 

Alli Charlier dedicated their year to creating four completed sketchbooks, totaling over 288 pages of art. Their show is titled “288 & Counting” to reflect the fact that they plan to continue these sketchbooks as the months move forward. Charlier’s goal was to draw two completed works every day in order to log their growth as a young aspiring artist. They practice traditional as well as digital mediums. Charlier is a junior who will study abroad next year.

Lexi Ferenzi explores the concept of female agency in her show “RAW.” In her series of acrylic paintings framed with crown molding, she directly copies the work of famous 16th- and 17th-century painters like Titian and Claesz, with one exception. She replaces the original paintings’ objectified female figures with something as sensual and succulent as any nude woman: raw meat. 

K Gielas spent the year getting to the point where they could say “i am important.” This also happens to be the title of their show. Gielas spent the year exploring the dynamic between their body and their soul. Fighting years of stigmas against the body and the soul, they created self-portraits that hide reclaimed words under layers of paint to show the world that they are important.

Kathy Pierce allows an intimate look into the mind of the artist in this semi-autobiographical untitled piece. This collection of poems reflect growing pains of figuring out how she fits in her own body and the world around her. As she stands at the brink of adulthood, memories growing duller, she shares her experience in a sort of love letter to the city that raised her and the people that shaped her.

Ashley Quesada created an art show that included multiple ceramic slip-casted tiles with charged text and sayings revolving around sexual assault and rape culture. Through these tiles, she brings awareness to the experiences of a survivor. Her online exhibit is showing in-progress images and a statement explaining the vision for her show. Quesada was unable to come back and complete her work after spring break.