This year, the art department decided to change things up a bit and offer junior art majors their own exhibition to show off their work to the public.
On Friday, March 21 at 5 p.m., the doors of Bedford Gallery opened to reveal beautiful and diverse artwork created by some of Longwood’s finest. Styles ranged from graphic designs, logos, landscape photography, portraits, watercolors and everything in between.
A familiar piece on display was the R.E.A.L. Inquiry logo created by Marlisha Stewart in January 2014. This logo has been seen around campus constantly, what with the recent visit from SACSCOC.
Stewart worked on this piece for about two weeks with a few minor obstacles but, as we have all seen, the end product was pretty impressive and showcased the goal of R.E.A.L. Inquiry perfectly.
Adding to the diverse types of art showcased, Christine Nowicki’s exhibition of stained glass was also incredibly remarkable. Her piece, “The Dragonfly,” is described as being experimental for her in that she used mostly opaque glass, and played with a sandblasted vein-like design in the dragonfly wings. Hanging beside her dragonfly was her other piece, titled “Guardian Angels.” This section of stained glass featured a combination of blues and purples to create an angel that is supposed to signify hope.
Toward the middle of the gallery, Ben Osterhout had a mixed media piece titled “Inquisition.” In his artist statement, Osterhout summarizes his thoughts by saying, “While not all of my works have a literal meaning, they have been able to help me explain myself without words.” This seems to be the perfect description for “Inquisition.” It features multiple colors, shapes and aspects that can only be understood after closely studying the piece. It’s definitely one that you will want to make a point to see.
Brittany Delbridge also shook things up a little bit with her piece “Baby Tooth.” This oil painting is an adorable representation of a little boy with his mouth wide open to show the new gap created by the loss of the baby tooth in his hand. In her artist statement, Delbridge describes her purpose by saying, “My intention is to have my viewers reflect on the smaller things rather than being distracted by their surroundings.” The painting does just this, and I couldn’t help but smile along with the little boy as I looked at it.
There were quite a few photography exhibitions, including two giant panoramic landscapes shots taken by photography major Samantha Hedger.
When asked to describe her project, she said, “I shot these for a digital photography project last semester. I really love landscape shots, and Farmville isn’t necessarily known for its scenic landscape.
So my goal was to capture and show that there is a lot of beauty in the Farmville area.” Trees and fall foliage are beautifully displayed in one of her photographs while the other seems to have been taken just before sunset on a street corner.
Hedger’s photos, along with every other piece featured in the 3/4 exhibit are an amazing sneak peek into the remarkable talents of Longwood University’s art majors. If you get a chance or are in the area, I definitely suggest you stop by. The artwork on display is incredible, and you don’t want to miss it!
