Graduating Art Majors Exhibit Their Work

An impressive number of art majors who graduate this year will present their final artwork in Westmont’s annual senior show, “Senior Exhibition 2012: The End?” April 5-May 5 in the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art. The 23 senior art majors, the second most ever at Westmont, will attend an opening reception Thursday, April 5, from 4-6 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity for our community to get a glimpse of the inventiveness, creativity and skill that our students demonstrate,” says Susan Savage, Westmont professor of art.

The exhibition will feature an eclectic range of work, including drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, mixed media, digital painting, and sculptural installations.

“This exhibit provides the student artists an opportunity to freely share their individual voices,” Savage says. “Playing to one’s strength, with an eye toward contemporary influences for some of the concepts portrayed, makes this exhibition an interesting venue of variety, integrative thought and unique surprises.”

She says the senior show represents a personal rite of passage, allowing each artist to say something about who they are and what interests them. “It also enables them to truly comprehend the realities and responsibilities of self-direction, to acknowledge the value of struggle and risk-taking in the creative process — and it requires them to aspire to create work that measures up to professional gallery standards,” she says.

In 2008, there were 24 students who graduated with bachelor degrees in art.

The museum is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. For more information, please visit www.westmontmuseum.org or contact the museum at (805) 565-6162.