Ali Luciani, Campus Carrier asst. arts and living editor

The Moon Gallery is showcasing the Annual Student Honors Art Show, an exhibition highlighting students’ artwork created during the academic year. Organized by Art Program Coordinator Brad Adams, the show brings together pieces from a range of various styles and art classes, giving students the opportunity to submit their work for selection by an outside juror and have it displayed in a formal gallery setting.

“It’s mainly art majors or minors, not exclusively,” Adams said.  “If they are accepted, it’s great. So, it’s about featuring that work. And I think it’s a cool opportunity for students.”

Unlike typical classroom exhibitions, this show was highly competitive. Students submitted photographs and descriptions of their chosen work and an outside juror selected which pieces will be displayed. This year’s juror, Nell Ruby, a professor of art at Agnes Scott College, reviewed submissions and decided the final collection displayed in the gallery.

Adams said the purpose of the show is to highlight student work created throughout the academic year in a professional context.

“We’ve been doing it for a long time, and it’s to feature our work that’s made in the academic year from various studio art classes,” Adams said. “I think it’s important for students to have that kind of experience.”

The juried process also introduces students to the reality of working in creative fields where acceptance is not guaranteed. Adams said this is an important lesson for students pursuing that art profession.

“It wasn’t the case this year that everyone who applied with something got in,” Adams said. “For some people, that’s important to be encouraging, but it’s not something I’m saying has to happen, because we want it to mirror a reality of work that is judged on quality and interest.”

Beyond selection, Adams also oversees the organization and installation of the exhibition, compiling student submissions and coordinating the gallery setup. The show includes work from multiple disciplines including ceramics, painting, printmaking and sculpture.

For students, having work selected for the exhibition is both an accomplishment and a learning experience. Senior art major and student gallery assistant Nancy Daniel has had multiple works featured in past shows. She described the selection process as especially meaningful because it is judged by an outside professional.

Daniel said the experience of being included in the exhibition carries a strong sense of recognition. 

“It’s always a joy and such an honor to be chosen for the annual honor show because, we have an outside artist come in and choose it themselves,” Daniel said. “So, it’s always really exciting when an artist outside of like a professor or just outside of the college chooses your work and like really sees something they want to say with it with a bigger show.”

Daniel’s artwork often focuses on memories, nostalgia and personal history. She said that much of her work is inspired by reflecting on her past and the emotional weight of familiar places and experiences.  Daniel has two pieces being presented in the gallery: “Waynesboro, My Heart” and “Linger.”

“‘Linger’ is based on some family photographs that I found last year in an attic space and I used those to kind of make the space and create this idea of a memory,” Daniel said. “That’s why I have those pieces of plexiglass in between to kind of show this idea of a fading memory.”

For “Waynesboro, My Heart,” Daniel expresses the feeling of nostalgia and the memories of her grandparents’ house.

“It’s supposed to reflect places that you kind of grow up in, and as you slowly move away, move out of them, they get kind of packaged away but they’re still there,” Daniel said. “Inside of each of the structures, there’s one of my family members doing a normal task, just living their life throughout it. It’s supposed to kind of be a call back to represent them, what they do and how much an impact they’ve made on my life.”

For Daniel, art is a big part of her life and a way to express herself. 

“Art’s always been my first love, and it’s something that I will always run back. I think it’s the most purest version of someone’s self,” Daniel said. “I think you can really say a lot within art, things you don’t want to say out loud.”

For other students, the exhibition is an opportunity to experiment with materials and ideas. Senior Josie Byrne submitted ceramic and printmaking work that reflect both playful design and creative exploration. Her ceramic series, “Mushroom Ghosts,” feature sculpted characters with expressive faces and organic faces.

“They’re very playful creatures,” Byrne said. “They’re grown pots that have little eyes and mouths and arms and legs and mushrooms growing out of them.”

Byrne also created a print featuring a llama, exploring contrasts between perception and interpretation.

“It’s an image of a llama where it’s intended to be kind of creepy looking, because llamas can be a little freaky,” Byrne said. “The background is general ideas of llamas, where people think they’re cute and cuddly.”

Although Byrne is not an art major or minor, she discovered her interest in art through ceramics.

“Before joining ceramics, I would have never imagined that I would be in the Moon Gallery,” Byrne said. “It’s just very cool.”

The exhibition also emphasizes the importance of showing student work publicly. Adams said the gallery setting allows students to see their work outside of the classroom context.

“I think it is a cool opportunity to make the work public,” Adams said. “A gallery is pretty important, literally optimum place to see the work. And so, it’s getting the work out of the studio and making it public, it feeds into a lot of the goals of our program.”    

The Annual Student Honors Art Show continues to provide students with both professional experience and public exposure, while showcasing the variety of creative work made at Berry throughout the academic year.