Co|So Exhibitions :: 23rd Annual Student Show

On display in Co|So’s Red Room Gallery, the 23^rd Annual Student Show is generating a great deal of excitement for a few talented young artists.  On view thru March 29^th, the exhibition features eleven works of various subject matter and media including oil painting, photography, ink on canvas, pyrography and spray paint.  The works were selected by jurors David Brown, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs of Graduate Programs at the SMFA and Miriam Stewart, Curator of the Collection of the European and American Art Division at Harvard Art Museums.

Jeremy Horseman, Triptych: The Helicopters, oil on panel, 72 x 24

First prize was awarded to Jeremy Horseman for his Triptych: The Helicopters, a narrative focused on the origins and outcome of violent disputes.  Horseman’s work centers on both modern and biblical accounts of war, and questions the instinctual nature that drives lust for conquest. The subdued pallet and anonymity of the figures highlight the senseless violence and travesty of war.  Horseman’s choice to create the work as a triptych enhances the narrative:  foreboding helicopters descend upon a city silhouetted against the sickly green sky, an intimate collection of soldiers engaged in battle from behind old walls, and lastly the helicopters exit over a sea of wrapped corpses. Horseman elucidates the reference to conflict in the Middle East by including  architectural outlines of domes and minarets, in addition to the contemporary uniforms of the soldiers. Horseman’s resolution to refrain from painterly extravagance allows the somber commentary of Triptych: The Helicopters to shine.

Stephanie Owyang, Hong Kong, digital photography, 24 x 16

Stephanie Owyang's digital photograph, Hong Kong, won second prize.  In this photograph, Owyang captures the busy lifestyle of Hong Kong and conveys the over stimulation of colors, traffic, and signs that abound in the densely populated metropolis. The mood and atmosphere of Hong Kong infuse the photograph, as the viewers attention is simultaneously drawn to numerous parts of the image. The lack of negative space reflects the overwhelming feeling that an individual might experience when actually present in this environment. Owyang states that she enjoys capturing photographs that reflect her experience of the places she visits without making them about herself. The essence of Hong Kong is the visual experience of the city, and lacks an overtly personal depiction of the artist.

Brooks Turner,  Follow on Us and Hide Us, no.10, ink on canvas, 37 x 64

Fall on Us and Hide Us, No. 10 by Brooks Turner received third prize in the annual student show.  Measuring 67 x 38 inches, this large-scale ink on canvas commands the viewer's attention.  Reminiscent of dynastic Chinese landscapes, this work seemingly portrays a path that draws the viewer into darkness. In his work, Turner explores ideas such as isolation, loneliness, absurdity, and the subconscious.  The dramatic size and perspective of Fall on Us and Hide Us, No. 10 emphasizes the feeling of monumentality, and asks the viewer to contemplate his/her place in the foreboding landscape.

The 23rd Annual Student Show will be on display until March 29th in the Red Room at the Copley Society of Art.