Scenes from “Bang Bang Fish Tank,” an animated short film by Nathaniel Dennis.
An exhibition featuring works by 27 graduating students opens May 2 in Fredonia’s Cathy and Jesse Marion Art Gallery.
“(Un)Limited Space,” the spring senior show, will include digital illustrations, animated short films, photographs, sculpture, and graphic design by graduating seniors from the Department of Visual Arts and New Media.
The exhibition begins with a reception from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday, May 2, and it runs through Sunday, May 11. It is free and open to the public.
The Marion Art Gallery is on the main level of Rockefeller Arts Center on the Fredonia Campus at 280 Central Ave. Gallery hours are: Tuesday through Thursday from noon to 4 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from noon to 6 p.m.; Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.; and by appointment.
The title “(Un)Limited Space” references the idea that the students’ creativity and their futures hold unlimited possibilities, while the exhibition space is limited for this large group of artists.
The artists and a description of their work follows.
• Lillian Baer (Sculpture major from Jamestown, NY) cuts intricate “zentangle” patterns into steel barrels based this drawing style learned from her grandmother.
• Matthew Beattie’s (Animation and Illustration major from Albany, NY) seven-minute animatic titled “The Microwave” follows three suburban boys on summer vacation who go into a not-so-fairy- tale-like forest in search of adventure and a stolen microwave; there they encounter weird magical creatures.
• Cheryl Caballero’s (Animation and Illustration major from Haverstraw, NY) animatic, titled “Social Solitude,” is about a young adult who is feeling lonely and left behind, so she only focuses on her job and work, neglecting to take care of herself and ignoring her problems.
• In her design project titled “The Honorary Farmer,” Kathryn Carnevale (Graphic Design major from Buffalo, NY) examines organic farming as a more sustainable solution to the costs and consequences of the American conventional agricultural system.
• “Bang Bang Fish Tank” is an animated short film by Nathaniel Dennis (Animation and Illustration major from Delhi, NY) which follows the surreal odyssey of a nameless punk with a living goldfish in his stomach.
• Drew DiPirro (Graphic Design major from Buffalo, NY) conveys the awareness and impact of false memories and how easily they can be implemented through the brain with original designs on six posters.
• Brigid Flynn’s (Graphic Design major from Hamlin, NY) board game, titled “Robot Escape Game,” is a study of language themed around robots with different conversational abilities, working together to try and escape a factory.
• In her zine titled “Aeflus,” Adeliz Gottinger (Animation and Illustration and Graphic Design major from Fredonia, NY) tells a fantasy story about a continent in which magic strengthens the flora and allows it to alter inanimate objects as well as heal people.
• Kat Haltiner (Animation and Illustration major from Westfield, NY) addresses the ongoing issue of plastic waste by repurposing recycled and discarded plastic packaging into functional, handmade items by crocheting “plastic yarn” into reusable products.
• In her photography series “Denim Forest,” Katherine Hanley (Photography major from Rochester, NY) focuses on jeans in nature, without any sort of model wearing them, to contrast the human-made denim and untouched nature, and consider humanity’s relationship with the natural world.
• In her “Accessible Design Style Guide,” Lilian Holman (Graphic Design major from Rendon, Texas) demonstrates her mastery of typography, creative visual research, and the iterative design process.
• With five gouache paintings, Brittany Howe (Animation and Illustration major from Elmira, NY) explores fantastical spaces and mysterious characters in this visual narrative.
• Cameron Kerr-Smith’s (Animation and Illustration major from Patchogue, NY) book for children is a digital collage of drawings and watercolors about the complex relationship between siblings.
• Using fluid, organic forms that gradually dissolve into the digital realm by transitioning into pixels, Nastya Korsh (Graphic Design major from West Seneca, NY) invites the viewer to reconsider machines as forms that can be both structured and fluid, much like many aspects of the natural world.
• Amari McNair (Photography major from Batavia, NY) explores color and the human experience in romanticized photographs that depict the pain, sorrow, joy, and wonders of the world around her.
• Michael Morales’ (Animation and Illustration major from Freeport, NY) animatic “Stellar Turbulence” tells the story of four travelers aboard a spacecraft who face impending doom at the mercy of an oncoming asteroid belt; their captain must come up with a solution to bring them to safety.
• In six charcoal drawings Emily Neiswonger (Film and Video, and Animation and Illustration major from North Tonawanda, NY) illustrates quotes by prominent philosophers, religious figures and historical figures about birth, growth, epiphany, love, death, and rebirth.
• Evelyn Osborne’s (Animation and Illustration major from Liverpool, NY) two-dimensional animated film “Departure” follows a young business woman preparing for the most important job opportunity of her life, only to be met with a lost child within the train station.
• “The Sugar Hatchet” by Kadence Osborne (Animation and Illustration major from Liverpool, NY) is a two-dimensional animated comedy revolving around the struggle two young sisters face when a claw machine will not give them their well-earned stuffed animal.
• Drew Paluch’s (Photography major from Adams Center, NY) product photography series features everyday objects that we use but may take for granted.
• With her fitness brand titled “Mind and Motion,” Isabella Rizzo (Graphic Design, and Animation and Illustration major from Williamsville, NY) aims to create a community, spread awareness about the benefits of serotonin, and raise funds for mental health initiatives.
• In “Piper’s Pantry,” Jay Rosenberg (Graphic Design, and Animation and Illustration major from North Bellmore, NY) uses a supermarket setting and a store mascot named Piper to explore accessibility through design and illustration.
• Julian Santos’ (Animation and Illustration major from Tonawanda, NY) fantasy illustrations focus on endangered animals.
• Jocelyn Seib’s (Animation and Illustration major from Newfane, NY) silent animated short film, titled “Bookmarked,” is a heartwarming story which follows a young woman as she reminisces on helping an old man as well as on crafting a bookmark from the flower that he gifted to her.
• With her photographs, Rebecca Torncello (Photography major from Scotia, NY) focuses on story telling through sports; rather than the typical action shots, she concentrates on showing the emotion of players and behind-the-scenes activities.
• In “James 4:12,” Nathan Van Volkinburg (Animation and Illustration, and Art History major from Hamburg, NY) creates three stained glass windows out of Kozo paper to address themes of religion and the hypocrisy that some Christian followers have regarding their beliefs about sin.
• Isabella Weber (Animation and Illustration major from Hicksville, NY) creates a branding campaign for a hypothetical tea which features a different endangered bird on each box and poster.
“(Un)Limited Space” is supported by the Fredonia College Foundation’s Cathy and Jesse Marion Endowment Fund, and Friends of Rockefeller Arts Center. For more information contact gallery director Barbara Räcker at (716) 673-4897 or by email at Barbara.racker@fredonia.edu.
