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The University of Puget Sound will open its annual Senior Art Show with a reception on May 1, from 5 to 7 p.m., in Kittredge Gallery. The 2019 senior show, which will be on display through May 19, features artwork by each senior studio art major, culminating in Puget Sound's development. This year’s senior thesis projects explore a diverse range of subjects, including love and loss, family, identity, vulnerability, memory, and environmentalism.   

The Class of 2019’s 14 studio art majors (pictured below) are Mallory Allen, Elayna Caron, Andriana Cunningham, Sam Doubek, Arielle Harvey, Walker Hewitt, Ada Hoch-Schneider, Justine Jones, Sophia Munic, Ronda Peck, Tess Peppis, Grace Phillips, Andi Thomas-Sanchez, and Gabby Valdivia. A general theme among the works group is a sense of belonging and coming-of-age in a digital world. The work included in the exhibition uses various media, including oil and acrylic paint, cloth, beads, and other materials, found objects, clay, and glazes. The variety of material and breadth of subject matter make this year’s show dynamic and exciting.

“Through painting, I point out that an intimate relationship with the land teaches one how to observe the world—the color and subject matter in my pieces mirror that tremendously,” says Grace Phillips ’19 (pictured above). “As ranchers, we are tasked with being stewards of the land, which ultimately connects us deeper to it. We are the land, and the land is us.”

Walker Hewitt ’19 will be exhibiting work that combines new and classic techniques. “The work explores the aesthetic qualities of digital collages through oil paintings that incorporate printed images,” Hewitt explains. “My process involves creating digital collages in Photoshop, which are the source images for my paintings.”

Whether Ronda Peck’s expertly crafted ceramic and light work, Sam Doubek’s surreal oil paintings, or Sophia Munic’s playful sculpture, the pieces were developed with great care by the artists over their final semester as undergraduates, each student’s artworks represent not only a semester of work, but an expansion of skill and engagement learned from within Puget Sound’s studio art undergraduate program.

Kittredge Gallery is open every Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturdays noon to 5 p.m., through May 19.

 Release was written by Arielle Harvey ’19 and Grace Phillips ’19.