Mix Masters

"God in Cloud", Fine Point & Photoshop by
"Tony" 

Cai Hexuan

a student in the MFA Studio Art Program at R.I.T.

I call this post Mix Masters for the way these two artists and MFA candidates dig into a legacy of images associated with history.  For "Tony" we have a deep interest in Art Nouveau and a narrative that extends into character development, and for Abiose Spriggs we see icons associated with his thesis work titled: "The New Negro Has No Fear".  As artists we deal with personal desire and family history and we can express ideas directly or obliquely.  It is also interesting to speculate on who the intended audience is for this art.. who will be receptive to it...

Cai "Tony" Hexuan writes about the image above:

God exists everywhere on our planet, this also includes its presence in the human soul.  People share a deep connection with everything around them just like their conversation with God.  The Goddess in my artwork is waiting for people as in a dream.  She stands guard in forests, lakes, seas and in countless stars.  The Goddess in this dream is a fusion of the abstract and nature; people’s divinity can only be sought in nature. 

"Horsewoman" ,  Fine Point & Photoshop, by

"Tony"

Cai Hexuan

In the artwork shown above, "Tony" writes:

“A girl achieves her own destiny gradually growing up to be a brave knight.  Her expression changes from young and arrogant into mature and modest.  Her belief is getting stronger in her heart.  Her inner strength is shown through her expression." 

 Next, we have two very different images from Abiose Spriggs and the central theme he writes about for his artwork has a focus on social activism.  See here how it is reflected in his artwork:

Abiose Springs, a painter 

in the Studio Art Program, MFA candidate

at

R.I.T.

"Abiose Spriggs is in his last semester of his two year MFA thesis program. In his thesis work THE NEW NEGRO HAS NO FEAR, he works with a contemporary manifestation of the philosophy and principles of the UNIA (United Negro Improvement Association) and it’s

founder Marcus Garvey. His artwork depicts Garvey and the UNIA as a forgotten dream in which one tries to recall every detail but only can remember fragmented pieces of that dream. Using vibrant pastel colors to recreate what once was, the pride and

rich history of those who were once members of the since past organization. During his residence in RIT’s MFA program he has participated in four group shows in the Rochester area and plans to pursue more endeavors as a professional artist. "

Abiose Springs

Getting Physical

"Precious"

Brianne Nelson

cast in yellow brass

2015

A group from the School of Art at R.I.T. went to China on an invitation to work on their sculptures. 

Here is what Brianne Nelson wrote about the experience: "This was one of three pieces cast in Jingdezhen, China during my study abroad.  It is bubble wrap that has been memorialized in yellow brass.  I have taken a common object, usually used to protect something precious that one wouldn't want damaged, and recreated it in a very strong, heavy, precious metal.

Brianne makes art that is literally about transformation.  In this case she takes something light and very flexible, and reworks it into a much more stable, colorful form that probably won't pop under pressure.  The cast edges are still rough and invite you to touch them.  The piece is also about color and texture as you can see in the photograph above.

In the following transformation by Leena Sonbuol, we have a view of a garment, made of cloth that is transformed into something that is like a diagram, or a drawing in space using wire and color to fill a void.  Leena provides a description and two photos which are almost like a before and after.  First study the documentary photograph and then see two views of the sculpture.

  

photo by Leena Sonbuol

The shemagh

Artwork size: 4' 5"

The shemagh (شماغ šmāġis) is a traditional headdress which is common for hundreds of years in the Middle East. I wove the shemagh sculpture from more than 1,750 feet of the silver, and red metal wire twisted to create the real size of shemagh, and I decorated it with 480 red beads. On a symbolic level, this shemagh presents the missing man in my life that is my father. The red complex wire line in the sculpture reflects the life line and the obstacles that he was facing until he passed away.

"The Shemagh"

Sculpture by Leena Sonbuol

Into View

Diane Baron

photo of temporal art

2015

For our first student posting we have two very different artists with very different perspectives.

First up - is Diane Baron, she writes about pastureland near her home:

"This is a temporal sculpture, titled: "East Wind"; hurricane Joaquin.

Inspired by the natural surroundings, available materials and an odd wind direction blowing in from the east, instead of the typical west.  I was lead to construct this piece that reflected the weather at the time, using leaves from the corn field across the road.  The leaves were woven through the fence, around a central "eye" to represent the unusual direction of the wind.  Hurricane Joaquin was blowing up the east coast in early October, 2015 and at the time this art was constructed there was a counter clockwise low pressure wind direction.  After the storm passed, the wind turned to its normal direction -westerly - pushing back against the piece.  Later, my artwork was eaten by cattle that were let out into the pasture."

Diane Baron

2015

Our second student posting comes from Lingfei Zhao, who writes that he loves those paintings in which an artist can strongly express himself.  Here are his figurative works:

"Hope", acrylic and marker on canvas, 2015

by

Lingfei Zhao

This is the first painting I made after I entered Rochester Institute of Technology and it is kind of a self portrait.  I used a wood man instead of a human body as my subject in order to express that time is always changing, but I will not change.  I have no face and I don't care what happens behind me.

I am sitting on the edge of a cliff - which looks dangerous, but I know I will not fall.

"Portrait" by Lingfei Zhao

oil on canvas, 2014

I think this painting is meaningful for me and it was made in the fall of 2014.  The model is a best friend, and this was the first time I made a painting of him.   I was looking for a way to make my painting more interesting and funny, and I found that the more that I felt relaxed, the better I did.

This painting taught me a lesson:  to be easy, and paint with a good mood.

We hope you enjoyed our first posting of student artworks, and there will be many more for you to see, so look for us on a regular basis...