The Department of Communication and the Arts will present its 7th annual student recital and exhibition, Les Arts, in the Walsh Gallery on April 13.
Associate professor of fine arts Lauren Schiller said students enrolled in art classes, including majors, minors and students taking elective classes, will display the work they have completed during the current academic year.
The recent integration of the Communications Department into the Department of Art and Music adds a new element to the annual exposition. While the exhibit will still showcase traditional painting, drawing, printmaking and sculpturing, it will now incorporate video and digital photography.
Artwork will include intaglio prints exploring line etch and aquatint techniques as well as watercolor and oil paintings illustrating the subject matter of still lives, human figure studies and portraits. Additionally, students designed and constructed 3D displays of product packaging for the event.
Senior Lyn Jackson is one of the many students contributing her work to the gallery exhibit. Jackson, who is a fine arts major, is submitting a pencil drawing and a water color portrait painted in the three primary colors, which explores the different tones and variations in the three different color palettes.
Awards and scholarships will be given to those students with the best artwork. Three Henry Gasser Scholarships will be awarded to majors in design, art history, and the fine arts, in commemoration of the South Orange-based artist. More than 25 students have been the recipient of a Henry Gasser Scholarship in amounts ranging from $500 - $2,000 since 1986.
There will also be three $100 Best in Show awards given to students in fine arts, advertising design and multimedia and computer graphics,
The Music Program will also have its Annual Student Recital Showcase prior to the exhibit. According to Dena Levine, associate professor of music, the recital will feature student soloists as well as the Jazz Ensemble and the Chamber Choir. They will perform classical and popular works.
Jeanne Brasile, Walsh Gallery director, encourages students to use this opportunity to share their artwork in a public venue to receive the recognition and feedback from schoolmates, professors and even off-campus visitors.
"(The exposition) is meant to celebrate the artwork that the students have created and celebrate the faculty and their ability to get this work out of the students," Brasile said. "It's an educational experience in a different way; it's educational in that they realize what it is to be an artist and what (their) life might be like".
Senior graphic design major Kyle Hilton said he hopes for a large turnout.
"There are a lot of students there with really good work. It would be really great if a lot of people could come and get a look at (them)," he said.
The music recital will start at 3 p.m. in Jubilee Auditorium, followed by the art exhibition reception from 5-8 p.m. in Walsh Library Gallery.
Melissa Murray can be reached at melissa.murray@student.shu.edu
