Cal State Long Beach’s Bachelor of Fine Arts Drawing and Painting show, “Say Awe,” which opened on Sunday at the Gatov Gallery, features the work of a class of graduating seniors and will be the class’s final exhibition.
The course is meant to teach students how to run an exhibit, write resumés and artists’ statements. It also teaches them how to hang their paintings.
Students spend the entire year preparing for the show, which will be their last official gathering before graduation.
About 45 visitors, including the artists and their families and friends, gathered at the opening reception where appetizers and drinks were served.
“The group of students I was working with this semester were really incredible,” said Fran Siegel, professor of the BFA capstone class. “This show happens every semester when BFA painting and drawing students are graduating. This is a completely diverse group. I try to give them everything that they need including professional museum practice.”
There are 29 students in this class but only the class’s graduating seniors have their work on display.
Erin Koppel, a senior who often depicts women and folklore mythology in her work, said her painting at the show is a self-portrait and an exploration of the self.
“When I am focused on a specific woman, I try to reclaim her identity and focus on her story,” Koppel said.
Luis Ramirez, whose painting on display is entitled ‘Running,’ said he based his painting on a photograph he took at home.
“My subjects are characters in my life that I portray in cinematic narratives,” Ramirez said. “They inhabit the rural landscape of Southern California that sculpted my childhood.”
CSULB student Noel Madrid said he was one of the few artists who created a painting on paper instead of canvas.
“I worked with the fractured landscape and finding another way to look at the image that you are building … It’s very difficult to talk about your own work,” Madrid said.
The Gatov Gallery is located between Fine Arts buildings 2 and 3 and the show will run until Thursday.
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