2011 Student Survey: USF, UT and HCC Ybor, Part III: University of Tampa

View of Gallery

The 2011 Annual Student Art Exhibition @ UT  was held at the spacious Scarfone/Hartley Gallery about a month ago. Adam Justice, curator for the Polk Museum of Art judged the show awarding about $3,000. There was a wide variety of media in the show. Here at AT, our judgments are...er...priceless. As with the preceding Surveys of aHCC Ybor and USF Grad show, here are some highlights...

     

Samantha Burns, "Dei Gratia"

Samantha Burn's richly textured, mixed-media "Dei Gratia" was made from sand, paint, wood stain, cheesecloth, bones and string. It was one of those works that has sub-frames within it outline, evoking memory, the passage of time, and transition.

Julia Heinke, "Once Upon A Time"

Julie Heinke's intaglio, "Once Upon a Time", is reminiscent of the Little Red Riding Hood myth, with a woman carrying a lantern looking bothered by the wolfpack trailing her through the woods. 

Shannon Kenny, "Why'd you have to seduce me"

Shannon Kenny's "Why'd you have to seduce me" is a female human bust made of cigarettes, encaustic [Link], and sand, its head seized by a pair of ashen hands. It's a strong comment on addiction, and not necessarily to cigarettes. It also raises the question of the powerlessness of the seduced.

Lisa Harasiuk, "Mother"

Lisa Harasiuk's "Mother" looks like a female Jesus figure crucified not onto a cross, but a woman's reproductive organs. The Ovaries and Fallopian tunes make the horizontal portion and the uterus the vertical. She is wearing a minimal undie very similar to a tiny JC loincloth.
 At the base of the work is what could be construed as a minimalist altar with nothing on it save for a Virgin's Saint's candle. A refreshing reinterpretation of a hackneyed Christian icon.








On the right is William Stryffeler's "Close Up Ready, the Real Clowns of Frankenstein Manor". A dangerously decorative work that is strong on its own, and more so when seen with other pictures from the series.

This is also by William Stryffeler, titled "Nature Imitates #2." A ceramic work that looks organic, similar to a barnacle-encrusted form.







Rachel Rosen's "Untitled", a hanging stack of books complete with mordant text was unusual and surprisingly passionate. The shadow seemed like an integral part of the piece.

Lisa Harasiuk, "It doesn't matter, Nobody is Listening"

Another Lisa Harasiuk, an introspective piece about having conversations with oneself while no one is listening.....or listening to the art.

Michael Fitzpatrick, "Rise and Unite"

Michael Fitzpatrick's social sculpture, "Rise and Unite", has a strong political theme. Four fists stacked atop one another speak of collective power.

Jessica Simmerman "Beach Days"

Jessica Simmerman's "Beach Days" looks like a family snapshot  taken on vacation, except it is a ceramic mosaic.

 Samantha Burns, "Emergence". Done in acrylics and oil this large painting  had a strong sense of intimacy/directness with the viewer.

David Canady's "Real Girl in a Fake World" is an ironic image where an obviously digitized picture of a woman appears to reverse the field polarity with reality.








Congratulations to the University of Tampa Artists and staffers for an excellent show.



--- Luis

[This concludes AT's 2011 Student Survey]