Virtual student honors exhibition showcases work by two senior Art students

McDaniel College’s student honors exhibition features a variety of work virtually from two senior Art students. Titled “Reconstruct and Memorialize: Identity in Impressions,” this virtual exhibition runs through Thursday, April 15.

Inspired by a family member, Quyen Nguyen of Baltimore sought to find a deeper meaning in pieces created, using unique media and materials.

“My grandmother inspired me to create my artwork. I would always remember my grandmother would say, ‘rice is gold.’ Taken on its surface this could mean that this simple food provides sustenance for millions of people and is a staple in dishes from many cultures,” Nguyen said. “Looking at it metaphorically I realized it could mean to use my resources wisely, in life and in art.”

After hours of crushing mussel shells, Nguyen combined them into a soap mold with the resin to make bars that show their worth similar to bars of gold.

“But what I found, and what I learned, was the process of making the bars, and the extra materials left over in that process, were the real gold,” said Nguyen, who noted that led to using resin and shell molds for stamping and printing.

Julia Robinson of Newark, Del., focused on fragments of past homes she has lived in to share how these places have impacted her identity. Robinson utilized resin, paper, and flower leaves in some pieces along with a tealight. Another piece resembled a bedroom with clay, hair, dryer lint, cardboard, and wood.

“Although these places have no inherent meaning on their own, to me they represent stages of my life. The physical locations continue to change after I have left them, but remain stagnant in my mind,” Robinson said. “The goal of these works is to memorialize these homes as I remember them, and reflect on how they have become part of my identity.”

The Esther Prangley Rice Gallery may be accessed here.