UC Davis Basement Gallery Showcases Student Work

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A first-person photo essay by Andrea Salcedo

The Basement Gallery, in the basement floor of the Maria Manetti Shrem Art Hall, features senior Art Studio graduates every spring quarter for Art Studio graduating students. This event provides students with the opportunity to showcase their art in an exhibition curated and designed by the students themselves. On May 1, I had my senior show as one in a group of three artists with distinct styles. 

Planning the exhibit

Planning the exhibition, we had to consider more factors than I had expected. These included the theme of the show, the title, the description of the exhibition, the design of the flyer, the reception time, how the pieces will be hung, how the room will be split up, and other smaller details that came about as we made our way to the reception. 

Collaborating with others' work

Before this experience, I had very few occasions where I had to think about how my art collaborates with others’ work. In the group, one of us was very expressive with brush work and color, another had a whimsy and curiosity that bled through the style, and the other had calm work expressed through technique. One can imagine the difficulty in choosing one theme that fits three distinct styles. 

Ultimately, we decided that color was our common factor. 

Through the Prism

Our show was named “Through the Prism,," an idea that focused on how color portrays different feelings and experiences through a work of art. We illustrated a wide range of emotions in our work. 

 

Painting out loud

In Shunxin Fa’s expressive paintings, color spoke loudly. Her paintings were layered and textured beautifully, revealing itself the longer you stared at it. Looking at her pieces, one can tell that she is not afraid of the canvas, allowing for a free expression of character in each painting. 

Childlike wonder

Lena Treiber’s work expressed color comfortably. Her pieces held a curiosity that many people crave. The paintings she decided to display presented a narrative that drew viewers in. Lena’s use of color transported one into a different world that created an experience of childlike wonder, as this one featuring a rock-strewn beach scene. 

 

Absence of Color

My work touched a bit on the absence of color. I presented photographs, a video, and a couple of drawings. I decided to display black and white photos as a contrast to the brightly expressed pieces in the rest of the gallery. But, I also brought in my own exploration of color through the video and drawings that I presented. 

Multi-media exhibition

Among the three of us, we displayed paintings, drawings, sculptures, video and photographs. What sounds like a messy array of mediums turned into an exhibition that was perfectly curated to fit our tastes and styles. We tried our best to take into consideration many museum protocols to design the gallery as neatly as possible. 

Light, measure, details

This included museum height, leveling all pieces, measuring the distance between each piece, adjusting and re-adjusting lighting dozens of times, and smaller details that came about as we set up throughout a week. 

 

Experiences

Experiences such as these are often overlooked as ones that will prepare you as a professional in the art world. But working with other students and figuring out how to run an art show together has prepared all participating art students with the chance to know what working as an artist is really like. It is amazing to witness how professional students can act and the quality of work they have produced early in their careers. 

UC Davis Basement Gallery Showcases Student Work

A first-person photo essay by Andrea Salcedo

The Basement Gallery, in the basement floor of the Maria Manetti Shrem Art Hall, features senior Art Studio graduates every spring quarter for Art Studio graduating students. This event provides students with the opportunity to showcase their art in an exhibition curated and designed by the students themselves. On May 1, I had my senior show as one in a group of three artists with distinct styles. 

Planning the exhibition, we had to consider more factors than I had expected. These included the theme of the show, the title, the description of the exhibition, the design of the flyer, the reception time, how the pieces will be hung, how the room will be split up, and other smaller details that came about as we made our way to the reception. 

Before this experience, I had very few occasions where I had to think about how my art collaborates with others’ work. In the group, one of us was very expressive with brush work and color, another had a whimsy and curiosity that bled through the style, and the other had calm work expressed through technique. One can imagine the difficulty in choosing one theme that fits three distinct styles. 

Ultimately, we decided that color was our common factor. 

Our show was named “Through the Prism,," an idea that focused on how color portrays different feelings and experiences through a work of art. We illustrated a wide range of emotions in our work. 

 

In Shunxin Fa’s expressive paintings, color spoke loudly. Her paintings were layered and textured beautifully, revealing itself the longer you stared at it. Looking at her pieces, one can tell that she is not afraid of the canvas, allowing for a free expression of character in each painting. 

Lena Treiber’s work expressed color comfortably. Her pieces held a curiosity that many people crave. The paintings she decided to display presented a narrative that drew viewers in. Lena’s use of color transported one into a different world that created an experience of childlike wonder, as this one featuring a rock-strewn beach scene. 

 

My work touched a bit on the absence of color. I presented photographs, a video, and a couple of drawings. I decided to display black and white photos as a contrast to the brightly expressed pieces in the rest of the gallery. But, I also brought in my own exploration of color through the video and drawings that I presented. 

Among the three of us, we displayed paintings, drawings, sculptures, video and photographs. What sounds like a messy array of mediums turned into an exhibition that was perfectly curated to fit our tastes and styles. We tried our best to take into consideration many museum protocols to design the gallery as neatly as possible. 

This included museum height, leveling all pieces, measuring the distance between each piece, adjusting and re-adjusting lighting dozens of times, and smaller details that came about as we set up throughout a week. 

 

Experiences such as these are often overlooked as ones that will prepare you as a professional in the art world. But working with other students and figuring out how to run an art show together has prepared all participating art students with the chance to know what working as an artist is really like. It is amazing to witness how professional students can act and the quality of work they have produced early in their careers.