Doane Stuart is proud to announce that five of our Upper School students had their artwork selected for the 18th Annual High School Regional Juried Art Exhibition. Selected for this year’s exhibition were: Josie Catalano ‘17 of Delmar (she had two works selected), Christian Libasci ‘17 of Claverack, Ethan McKnight ‘17 of Belfast, Jack Hassett ‘20 of Coxsackie and Deana Preston-O’Keeffe ‘20 of Loudonville. These artists had their work selected from a competitive pool of 484 pieces submitted from 20 school districts. Of these 484 pieces, only 130 were selected for inclusion in the exhibition.
From the Albany Center Gallery press release:
In selecting student artwork for the annual Regional Exhibit, mastery of technical skill is a factor, as is students’ ability to go beyond both technical competence and the apparent classroom assignments to present original or unique visual solutions that reveal something of the artist. It is quite an honor to be included in this annual exhibit.
The Regional juried Exhibition is sponsored by the Capital Area Art Supervisors, the New York State Art Teachers Association and the Opalka Gallery at The Sage Colleges. A reception and awards ceremony was held on Friday, March 24 to open the gallery, which will remain until April 23.
Enjoy our students work and hear about their the creative process and what inspired them. A special thank you to Mr. Jason Martinez and Mr. Michael Van Winkle for their teaching and guidance.
Josie Catalano ’17
St. Vincent
“I decided to paint Annie Clark of the band St. Vincent. I picked her because she has an unorthodox style of music and really embraces her individuality. She inspires me to embrace my own individuality and I can do so through my paintings. I enjoyed painting her because Mr. Martinez just gave me a blank canvas and let me paint however which way I wanted to- even if that meant giving her crazy purple hair.”
Family
“My mom had recently found a bunch of old pictures from her childhood. She showed me this picture of her and her siblings walking during a snowstorm. I wanted to paint this because I really liked the old-school 70’s clothes they were wearing and thought the color scheme reminded me of the similar color schemes I see in films directed by my favorite filmmaker, Wes Anderson. I liked painting this because Mr. Martinez showed me how the tiny details don’t always have to matter in any work of art. I blurred out the faces of the kids because the painting is more about the “bigger picture” of a group of kids. I like how the painting is more ambiguous and open to the viewer’s own interpretation.”
Christian Libasci ’17
Grandfather
“I initially joined art class because I hadn’t spent time with Mr. Martinez since middle school. I had no fourth-period class and I was excited to explore a different side of myself. I always thought that I was a bad artist because I could never draw anything nearly as good as my current classmates and the students from years before. Naturally, I didn’t expect to produce anything special.
I chose to paint a photo of my grandfather because I figured it would be funny to make a painting of a picture. This piece started slowly at first, as I tried to get everything correct. But Mr. Martinez taught me that art didn’t have to be precise and that even the Mona Lisa has its flaws. Next thing I knew I painted like a mad man. Every brush stroke had a new sense of passion – the mixing of white and black to make hundreds of different shades of gray was exhilarating. I had never felt so focused and yet so relaxed in my life. When it was finished I didn’t think it was very good especially compared to my peers, but I was just happy to have done something amazing. I never expected it to be part of the regional exhibition.
I am very thankful for the opportunity that not only my teacher has given me but my parents and loved ones. I couldn’t have done this without them.”
Ethan McKnight ’17
Untitled
“As a foreign exchange student and film buff, I’ve always been enamoured by the US urban landscape. The setting of so many great films, each skyscraper is it’s own unique narrative. Thus I caught a rare glimpse of the capital buildings, particularly their reflection on that bright day in October. I found the lighting fascinating with the gradual distortion from light to dark, from linear to loony. It presents a visually distinct metaphor for the price of success and how much of yourself you may lose on your way to the top.”
Jack Hassett ’20
Untitled
“Although the preparation time was long and tedious, I’m glad and honored to have been accepted into the Regional art show. As inspiration for the piece goes, I’m actually not quite sure. It started out as a recreation of a piece that I did in 5th grade, but as I progressed, I kept having new ideas and adding more detail. In a sense, it was a large mashup of ideas that came to me as I worked. I’d like to thank Mr. Martinez for making this possible, and giving me and all the other students who entered this amazing opportunity.”
Deana Preston-O’Keeffe ’20
Eleven
“I am so honored that one of my favorite pieces was accepted to be in the Regional Art Show. My inspiration was my favorite show Stranger Things. I really like this character’s story and personality even though she doesn’t talk much. I am just so thankful to have been given this opportunity by the amazing Doane Stuart community.”