51st All-Student Exhibition 2020 Juried by Elizabeth Kauffman, associate professor, director of university galleries, Salisbury University
Boyden Gallery, SMCM
51st All-Student Exhibition 2020 Boyden Gallery Staff:
The All-Student Exhibition is an annual celebration of student creativity
Director: Erin Peters, PhD
and accomplishment in the visual arts. Each year, an outside juror selects artwork for
Gallery Manager: Heidi Rottman
the exhibition that best represents the quality and diversity of student creative work. Elizabeth Kauffman, this year’s juror, is an artist, curator, and educator from Salisbury
Collections Manager: Emily Smith
University where she serves as the director of galleries and teaches as associate
Gallery Assistants:
Artworks submitted by students for the annual All-Student Exhibition are judged by an
Lydia Haron Daniel Mixson Ashleigh Molina
professor of art.
external juror for inclusion and for a number of awards. One artwork is awarded best-inyear for first through fifth year/continuing, and one artwork is awarded best-in-show with the Arts Alliance Patti Runco Award. This catalogue was produced as documentation for the exhibition that was originally scheduled to take place in the Boyden Gallery March 23 - April 11, 2020. All artwork dimensions are in inches.
Juror Elizabeth Kauffman is an artist, curator, and educator. She received her BA in painting from Xavier University, and her MFA and MA in art history from the University of Cincinnati. As her education might suggest, art history plays an important role in her work. In the studio, she begins the relationship of text to images, and works out her ideas about visual culture in paint, installation, and performance. She questions notions of truth and representational romanticism while subtly undermining each genre she works with. She has an international exhibition record, having exhibited in Chicago, IL, Cincinnati, OH, Washington, D.C., New York, NY, Puerto Rico, Budapest, Hungary, Ocean City, MD, and Rehoboth, DE. In her writing and research, Kauffman’s broader interests in time, social practice, the built environment, and representation are addressed in papers, essays, and presentations. Her writing has been published online, in exhibition catalogues, and in Art Papers magazine. Kauffman has been curating and working as an arts administrator and teaching at the college level for over 10 years. She co-founded Manifest Creative Research Gallery and Drawing Center in 2004, and has since co-created other arts organizations, such as Backspace Collective in Peoria, IL, and W.O.R.K. in Salisbury, MD. She spent three years as the director of galleries, exhibitions, and collections at Bradley University in Peoria, IL, since 2011 she has served as the director of galleries at Salisbury University where she also teaches as an Associate Professor of Art.
Christiana Anderson, third year “The Support System,� 2019 Wood 27 x 22 x 4
Artist Statement This work touches on the relationship between two people in a relationship. There are parts of each body that compliment the other and actually become the support for the opposite figure. This work uses themes of comfort and connection between two bodies to capture a moment in time. It is meant to represent a support system in which two individuals build each other up and share qualities of themselves with one another.
Tara Auman, fourth year “Turquoise Storm,� 2020 Acrylic on Canvas 20 x 26 x 1.5
Artist Statement This painting communicates the different meanings of the color turquoise. The scenic depiction of rough and stormy waters shows a glimpse of hope at the horizon line while creating an expansive sense of depth. Turquoise has many different cultural meanings from representing hope and protection, to being an ominous color of warning.
Tara Auman, fourth year “Wisteria Weaver,” 2019 Paper wrapped board, Bristol paper 8.25 x 8.25 x 0.5
Artist Statement Wisteria Weaver is a handcrafted children’s book about an artistic orb weaver spider. The illustrations are a combination of painted watercolor and digital media that have been transferred onto the thick bristol pages. The book is constructed in a star book format to reference the circular shape of spider webs.
Winner of the Arts Alliance Patti Runco Award for Best in Show Gillian Borkoski, fourth year “Rest/Pose #1,� 2019 Gouache 18 x 24
Artist Statement Starting from the exact measurements of my own figure, I negotiate between the actuality of my body and the nuanced perceptions I impress upon it. Tactile and voluptuous forms that demonstrate specificities of my body that elicit feelings I associate with the experience of being in it. Lucious shapes and lines that accentuate the nuances of my figures set a tone for the composition. A palette consisting of both fleshy and artificial pinks characterize the work as invested in femininity, but with an appeal towards the abject anatomical. Embracing the foundational feminist rhetoric of the personal being paramount in the creation of our burgeoning, intersectional historical canon, autobiography is vital to how my work is actualized. Some pieces hinge on immediacy and documentation of bodily sensations, and others are dedicated to tender, painstaking construction- all are important to construct the complicated, often tense romance I pursue with my own form.
Gillian Borkoski, fourth year “Rest/Pose #4,” 2019 Gouache 18 x 24
Gillian Borkoski, fourth year “Rest/Pose #6,” 2019 Gouache 18 x 24
Maryalice Christopher, first year “Pink Eye Jackson,� 2020 Gouache, Pen, Oil pastel 10 x 7
Artist Statement My friend Jackson got pink eye at the start of the year. This painting is inspired by a picture of him with this really grotesque looking, red eye with puss at the corners.
Winner of the First Year Outstanding Work in the All-Student Show Gabrielle Cohen, first year “Civil,� 2019 India ink and Charcoal 30 x 22
Artist Statement This is the drawing of a small ornamental part of the Building Museum in Washington DC. This small overlooked piece of a building that can fit multiple football fields inside, has faced the street that oppressed black men and women marched along to get their rights. The importance of the street the building is on is often overlooked, much like the beauty in the ornate door details.
Gabrielle Cohen, first year “The Key,” 2019 Acrylic paint, Oil-based markers, Chalk pastel 60 x 36
Artist Statement This artwork represents the importance of common women and slaves in Historic St. Mary’s City, where the white men are often the only people portrayed as important in the history. This drawing also embraces the clothing, heavy dresses, that the slaves wore and worked in. Women were key to making an efficient town.
Francesca D’Angelo, third year “Man-Eating Woodpeckers,” 2019 Oil paint on Canvas 26 x 20
Artist Statement This work was created after I woke up from a nightmare about dog-bird hybrids. I immediately drafted out sketches from that, and painted it later on. I decided to use woodpeckers as the bird when looking for reference, because the jabbing beaks combined with teeth gave the sort of visceral effect I wanted.
Davita Fennell, fourth year “Blue,� 2019 Paper, Pen, and Pastel 8 x 10
Artist Statement Behind closed eyelids and headphoned-covered ears, colors appear. As I listen to a song the first time, I am allowing my senses to be controlled. Once I discover a set of colors paired with a song, I allow emotions to direct my movements. My motions are not rehearsed and create curious designs. While the viewer misses the opportunity of the present moment, I capture these instances to be viewed afterwards. The emotion and process that happens in the moment of creation causes an overwhelming excitement within me.
Davita Fennell, fourth year “Listen Before I Go,” 2019 Ink 18 x 24
Yonas Fishaye, third year “N/A ,” 2019 Digital photograph 8 x 11.5
Winner of the Fourth Year Outstanding Work in the All-Student Show Danielle Harris-Burnett, fourth year “Liminal World of the Mole Men,� 2019 Digital photograph 6x8
Artist Statement This piece examines the DC Metro from an inverted perspective in order to contextualize my own disorienting experiences when riding the train. The very act of crossing from the street above to the station below feels so much like entering a subterranean city.
Elijah Hill, third year “MercuryBased,” 2019 Soft pastels 18 x 24
Kevin Jones, first year “Nine Figures Brand Logo,” 2019 Photoshop, Cinema 4d
Emory Knott, fourth year “Blue Poppy,� 2019 Color pencil on Black paper 8x8
Artist Statement Blue Poppy began as a study of light. Underneath the colored pencil is a white pencil drawing of the flower, where I focused on capturing where the light was coming from, how it was being reflected, and how it defines the lines and edges of said flower. As I was carefully applying color, I realized that not only does the black background allow it to stand out, but it results in the subject having more character and life.
Brenna Litynski, third year “Esoteric / OR-54,” 2020 Acrylic on Canvas 48 x 48
Artist Statement OR-54 was a grey wolf that died after traveling nearly 9000 miles in search of a mate. I created this painting in honor of her and other wolves that fight for survival. Like wolves, green represents a balance between strength and delicacy. Just like comparing a great oak tree to a fragile green seed, wolves are as much a force of nature as they are an endangered species. The color green depicts powerful, often magical things that we don’t always understand but know to be extraordinary. The ‘green fire’ that Aldo Leopold discusses in his writing is fascinating. It not only represents the wolf’s connection to the natural world, but also the inner essence or soul of the wolf. In his book “A Sand County Almanac”, Aldo Leopold recognized the great ecological purpose wolves held. Leopold knew of the cascade effect that spiraled from the wolves, to the deer, to the plants. He expressed his own remorse at killing a wolf, and Leopold saw the effects on the environment after wolves from all over the country were eliminated from their ecosystems. Wolves are a keystone species in that they are critical to balancing population levels in their ecosystem. For this reason, I have also decided to include ravens in my painting for the symbiotic relationship they share with wolves.
Brenna Litynski, third year “Flight Patterns,” 2019 Wood, Resin, Steel rod, Sheet metal, Acrylic, Found objects 34 x 30 x 18
Artist Statement In making this sculpture, I was interested in flight. More specifically, the s-shaped pattern necessary for flight in birds. This curvilinear s-shaped pattern is not seen at first glance but only after repeated and close observation. The beating of a bird’s wings is a great example of this s-shape pattern needed for flight. Birds that fly have wings that enable a bird to both lift itself and hold air beneath its wings. Wings can be angled to certain positions, reducing or increasing air pressure in certain areas to alter the direction the bird is moving. If one were to create a time lapse of bird flight, one would find that both the wings and the overall bird move in a curvilinear motion or s-shape. The rhythm of wings pushing air beneath them and carrying their bodies on waves of air causes birds to fly in an elegant arcing pattern. For my sculpture, I tied representative qualities of birds and the curving patterns they perform in nature together. My sculpture is based on observations in nature that were drawn and written about in scientific illustrations in the field. It is my hope that through my art, people will consider the importance of birds to humans and nature.
Winner of the Third Year Outstanding Work in the All-Student Show Jasper Lopez, third year “The Witch’s Song,” 2019 Fabric, Polymer clay, Digital images on Glossy paper 7.5 x 5.5 x .5
Artist Statement My work is centered around interactions. How the characters interact with each other as well as how the viewer interacts with the work itself. The story that is told in “The Witch’s Song” is an illustrated story about a young witch, Adelina, who runs into a cat on her walk home one night. It is told through a deck of twelve tarot cards and is stored in a handmade pouch that adds an extra element of magic to the work. Each illustration on each handmade card goes along with the story that is on the back of it. It explores the different meaning of the tarot cards from new beginnings to disasters and success. The story is meant to be read through, but the cards can be used for their actual purpose with a tarot reading, allowing the viewer or reader to have a different experience with the work.
Margaret Malia, first year “Anthropic Experience of Fear,� 2020 Collage 11 x 17
Artist Statement Anthropic Experience of Fear is a digital collage depicting my personal experiences with anxiety. During the time I was constructing this collage I had just started becoming more open about my mental health with my friends and family, leading me to realize that my anxieties might be more intense and debilitating then I had initially noticed. This work intends to visually overwhelm the viewer with its intense colors and chaotic composition. I constructed the figure itself by composing a variety of images that represent my own fears and triggers, while the background serves to represent a combined feeling of loneliness with the need to separate myself from overwhelming situations.
Margaret Malia, first year “Salvator,� 2019 Digital print 18 x 20
Erin Moran, fourth year “The Great Smokey Mountains,� 2019 Digital print 11 x 8
Artist Statement My name is Erin Moran. I am a graphic designer and photographer. These pieces are from my trip to Tennessee. I love nature and traveling. I went on this trip with my family and when I see these pictures they make me happy. I want everyone viewing these to feel happy and peaceful.
Erin Moran, fourth year “Tennessee,� 2019 Digital print 11 x 8
Carol Morris, fourth year “Pondering,” 1999 Watercolor 4.5 x 11 each watercolor in triptych
Artist Statement Following in the footsteps of Henry David Thoreau, my work visually records what I witness at my pond. Watercolor is used to express the quickly changing landscapes that appear in front of me. The narrow, vertical orientations of each painting are approximately the size of a bird feeder. Each extreme perpendicular view serves to crop the landscape in order to dissect the idea of the trees and water from how they look. Through intense observation using the lens of my eyes and the camera, the abstracted images shift the focus to the movement of shapes, colors, tone of the water and atmosphere. As time passes through each of these slender openings, this series explores the wonders of nature’s fleeting moments.
Kaidyn Sexton, third year “A Connection between Religion and Life,” 2019 Black ink on Paper 59.5 x 11
Artist Statement My goal is to present normal conceptions of the world in a different way. I want to change people’s perspectives on everyday life and allow them to see everything differently.
Danielle Szynborski, third year “Dandelion Salad,” 2019 Oil paint on Canvas 26 x 30
Artist Statement Dandelion Salad comes from a memory that my mom once shared with me. She told me about the dandelion salad that her grandmother used to make, and I tried to document the essence of her recollection. As I made plans for Dandelion Salad, I considered how warm colors could reference the warm bacon dressing that my great-grandmother drizzled on dandelion leaves. A painted reimagining of dandelions came to fruition when I reached into the past, grabbed some savory pigments, and turned a “warm bacon” color palette into a tangle of wildflowers.
Winner of the Second Year Outstanding Work in the All-Student Show Tori Wertin, second year “My neighborhood fox,” 2020 Acrylic paint 12 x 12
Artist Statement My mom and I have been watching a fox in my neighborhood for about 3 years now. He lives in the forest in my backyard and he’s so interesting to watch. We decided to name him Frank about 2 years ago when we realized he was the same fox who was coming back all the time with little critters to eat in the brush behind my house. So I decided I would paint a fox in his honor. He’s not dead, he’s just so pretty.
Winner of the Fifth Year Outstanding Work in the All-Student Show Briana Melanie White, fifth year “The Futility of Pleasure,� 2020 Digital photograph on matte paper. 18 x 24
Artist Statement Using photography, I create a world where I hold the ability to change and distort familiar aspects of life. Eyes, usually highlighted as the doorway to one’s soul, are dulled and hidden, establishing a disconnect between the figure and reality. This photograph functions as a self portrait, a reflection of myself and the relationship a person can have with themselves as they reach turning points in their lives. Moments in time where there is a lack of self-knowing and understanding that occurs over and over again as humans reach milestones and great periods of change. The presence of smoke signifies the ephemerality of life and the transient nature of all its components. The photo functions as a reminder of mortality and transience.
51st All-Student Exhibition 2020
Boyden Gallery is located on the 2nd Floor of Montgomery Hall on the St. Mary’s College of Maryland campus Gallery Hours: T-F 11-6, Sat 11-4 240-895-4246 www.smcm.edu/art/boyden-gallery/
EXHIBITION AND EVENTS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC