“Transfer Student Award Exhibition”
Connecticut’s Community Colleges (15 throughout the state) promote and support Art students through the “Transfer Student Award Exhibition.” It showcases students, in a variety of media, “showing exceptional work.” The opening reception on February 14, was hosted at the Donald and Linda Silpe Gallery at the Hartford Art School, University of Hartford. Students selected in the Exhibition Round are eligible to compete for scholarship awards.
Four of the five students selected from Naugatuck Valley Community College also enrolled in my Art History classes. I am pleased to highlight one of the works by my former student, Heather Ruszkowski. I plan to highlight other students in future blogs.
In the mixed media work “Beauty,” two round-shaped mirrors, one cracked, one smooth replace the faces and heads of two female figures. One figure holds a lipstick in her left hand, a smear of red, stains the smooth finished mirror; a smart phone rests in the right hand of the figure with cracked mirrored face, possibly posed to take a selfie. My 12 year old grandson, who accompanied me to the show, observing his reflection in both mirrors, noting the distortions in his portrait in the cracked mirror. In the background, a misshapen composition of a bedroom bureau, open make-up cases, and posters, one displays the cosmetic brand Maybelline. I revel that a young boy can engage in Ruszkowski’s visual commentary on beauty and our perceptions of it.
Click link to learn more about the exhibition and the Donald and Linda Silpe Gallery at Hartford Art School, University of Hartford. http://www.hartford.edu/hartford_art_school/galleries/silpe-gallery.aspx