The Spring 2017 San Diego Mesa College Student Art Show showcases a variety of different student art pieces and will be on display in the campus art gallery from now until May 17.
Students enrolled in both Studio Art classes and in the Fashion Department have come together to share their work for the current art exhibition. The artwork is displayed through multiple different media, showcasing the variety of talent that students have.
The exhibition’s design and set up was done by students of the San Diego Mesa College Museum Studies class, with direction from Professors Alessandra Moctezuma and Lisa Hutton.
Forms of artwork in the gallery range from photographs and paintings to handmade clothing and sculptures. The walls of the gallery are lined with photographs and paintings, while sculptures are displayed throughout the center of the gallery.
One sculpture featured in the exhibition is an untitled group piece, that was created through the direction of instructor Georgia Laris. The piece is a sphere-shaped object made up of free-hand drawings from 16 different students.
Jessica Tallman, Museum Studies student and contributor to the piece, said that “students opted to create a circle to create an interactive piece,” explaining how the sculpture was meant to be picked up and viewed on all sides.
Fashion students contribute to the exhibition by sharing their handmade clothing designs. Richard Ennis created a “hand dyed and painted kimono” through the instruction of professor Susan Lazear, which was presented on a mannequin in a corner of the gallery.
Another garment was created by fashion student Rachel Merrill, and is a dress titled “Starlight Fantasy.” The dress is hand-dyed silk, and has 7000 fiber optic filaments by LEDs that light up the dress causing it to “twinkle and glow.” The piece was also created under the instruction of professor Susan Lazear.
The art show is dedicated to Cheryl Ann Fertig, a student in the Mesa College Fine Arts department, an alumni of the Mesa College Museum Studies Program, and a member of the Mesa College Art Gallery staff who died earlier this year.
A statement on one of the walls in the gallery reads her name and a short description of how she impacted the school and those around her through her art. A memorial is set up in the exhibition in remembrance of Fertig, which features “a collection of works, completed and in progress by Cher as well as works inspired by her.”
Hours for the art gallery are Monday-Wednesday 11a.m.- 4p.m. and Thursdays from 1p.m- 8p.m. The gallery is closed on weekends, Fridays, and school holidays. Admission is free of charge.
