Senior Exhibition Shows
Vacha Patel
This exhibition attempts to capture the essence of dance by depicting various dance styles from around the world. The unique art pieces depicting different dance styles has its own meaning and expression by which it motivates individuals to embrace its core teachings. This celebration of dance styles is created to relay the perspective that I have held and embraced in my life. My illustrations combine the play of colors, textures, movement, and abstract design to portray my art.
The various color schemes used in each depiction tries to convey the impression of each dance style. Each piece of art then takes you on an emotional journey. The textures and movement bring the eye to recognize the core of the dance style. Overall, this art Exhibition is an attempt to lure you into an adventure through which dance styles are presented using abstract design in a unique way.
Alexis Hixson
Skin Deep
As people, we should celebrate our inner beauty and show the world that we are beautiful on the inside. We tend to hide our genuine selves beneath layers of makeup, surgery, and other embellishments; however, outer beauty only goes so far. Character, rather than beauty, is what counts in a person.
In response to several songs by artists that express concepts of inner beauty. In Skin Deep, I depict women, some of whom are embracing their inner beauty while others try to conceal it. Through these paintings, I want viewers to understand how embracing and concealing inner beauty affects people in their daily lives.
-Alexis Hixson
Works of Shannon Riddle
The 3 master copies in the SOAL building are part of a series I started in 2018 in which I was simply trying to tighten my painting skills. They were intended to be exact master copies, meaning they would be in the same media, size, and techniques of the original pieces; however, the more I looked into the content of the works, I realized how emotional and dramatic they are, and wanted the feeling to be evident in the brush strokes. Another from the same series (actually in the lobby of the Arts Complex) is based on a painting that is actually pretty small, so I kept the same proportions but made the painting large so that it immediately confronts the viewer.
Jean-Antoine Watteau, Pierrot, oil on canvas, c. 1718-1719, 72.6”x59” – this is the large clown painting directly across from the MCA office suite. The original is from the Rococo period, and I generally am not enthused by the art of that period, which is kind of funny because a lot of Rococo paintings are of entertainers, and I like to paint celebs. But this one is actually one of my favorite paintings in the history of Western art. Pierrot is the “sad clown” in the commedia dell’arte. He wears ill-fitting clothes, he always is the butt of the joke, and he is a victim of chronic unrequited love. But in this painting, he appears to me as a pillar of strength; his body fills the vertical format of this painting, and he directly confronts the viewer with his gaze. I feel like he is saying, “it is what it is.” He is still himself. He is owning it.
Caravaggio, The Cardsharps, oil on canvas, c. 1594, 36”x52” – this is the one of the guys playing cards, directly across from the 3 portraits on the opposite wall. This is the first one from the series. The realistic detail, dramatic lighting, and expressive faces make Caravaggio one of my go-to artists. I absolutely adore his paintings. This is one of his early works, when he was doing mythological scenes and genre paintings, before he became more well-known with his larger altarpieces of Biblical heroes. Here, I love the juxtaposition of the soft features and pristine condition of the naïve young man on the left with the weathered faces and tattered clothing of the cheaters on the right.
The other 3 paintings in the SOAL building, across from The Cardsharps, are portraits of contemporary celebrities. From left to right: Tilda Swinton, Ian Somerhalder, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. I can’t remember a time that I didn’t at least partially define myself with my fandom. When I was a kid, I would copy images from color books from my favorite cartoons. Later, I started doing drawings (later paintings) of my favorite musicians and actors. I can’t tell you how many graphic tees I have with images of my favorite strangers on them. Fan art, in my opinion, is an under-appreciated artform. It is perceived as unoriginal and contrived, but true fan art is about passion and admiration.
Tilda, oil on canvas, 2014, 24”x36” – I wish that I had something profound to say about this painting, but I honestly don’t. I was part of a group exhibition on the subject of celebrity/celebrities, and the curator noticed that most of the subjects of the submitted works were men. He asked me to do a portrait of a female celeb, and he suggested Tilda Swinton, because at the time, the Narnia films were popular. I knew of her, but had not seen any of her films, but I admired her unique appearance, so I painted the portrait for the show.
Ian #1, oil on panel, 2007-2014, 36”x48” – The image of Ian Somerhalder is sometimes a default for me. When I can’t think of something to paint, oftentimes I will paint him. When I first saw him in an episode of Smallville sometime in the early 2000s, I thought he was the most beautiful thing on Earth! This painting is a superficial celebration of his face. That’s it. It took me 7 years to finish. I started it when I was living in Athens, then it moved with me to Atlanta and stayed in my grad school studio, then it traversed again when I moved to Macon in 2009, and I finally finished it 5 years later! It is a perfect example of my previous statement concerning the passion of fan art.
Jean-Michel Basquiat, oil on canvas, 2015, 24”x36” – I did this one for a group show about the “27 Club,” creatives who died (usually tragically) at the age of 27. I expected there to be many renderings of Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Kurt Cobain, but, to my surprise, I think there were more of Basquiat than of anyone else. In hindsight, it should have occurred to me that the artists involved in the exhibition would appreciate Basquiat because he himself was a painter. I thought Basquiat would be fun because I am a fan of his work, but am also a fan of his appearance, with the eccentric hair and messy necktie!
