Mixtape: Senior Thesis Exhibition is on view from April 20 to May 10, 2018, at the Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art, University of Richmond Museums, and from April 12 to April 23 at Valet Gallery, 509 E. Franklin St, Richmond. The exhibition is the capstone experience for graduating visual media and arts practice majors in the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Richmond.
Selected by the faculty of the Department of Art and Art History to participate in the thesis exhibition, five graduating senior visual media and arts practice majors present their art: Nene Diallo, Emma Felt, Jinny Kang, Liz Montague, and Izzy Pezzulo. The students work throughout their senior year to prepare for this exhibition. The yearlong course was taught in the fall by Jeremy Drummond, Associate Professor of Art, University of Richmond, and in the spring by Tanja Softic, Professor of Art, University of Richmond.
Organized by the University of Richmond Museums in collaboration with the Department of Art and Art History, University of Richmond, the exhibition was coordinated by Richard Waller, Executive Director, University Museums.
Nene Diallo is working on a series of collages that encourages discussions around the construction of blackness, confronts the concept of whiteness, and leaves room for personal crises and reflection in attempt to find a safe space in contemporary American life.
Emma Felt is interested in the tradition of quilt making as she works through concepts of identity. Her work combines both clothing and quilting as it draws similarities between the dresses’ physical attributes and the way people carry their identity and present it to society.
Jinny Kang is creating a series of animations that speaks metaphorically to the current political climate in America. The work is a criticism of abstractions of what should be and what is supposed to be. She critiques the media through mind numbing, yet compelling and interesting animations.
Liz Montague is working on a video and creating a website that contemplate the ripple effects of race. She primarily focuses on minority women to unpack Blackness as a cultural phenomenon in Western Society. Her portfolio is on view here: http://eemontague.com/
Izzy Pezzulo is creating video, sound, and works on paper. Her work brings together appropriated and original content to talk about visions of utopia, liminal states, and how the past haunts the present, creating a wealth of interpretations and possible futures.
Thursday, April 12, 2018, 6:30 to 9 p.m.
Exhibition opening reception
Valet Gallery, 509 E. Franklin St, Richmond
Friday, April 20, 2018, 1 to 6 p.m.
2018 Arts and Sciences Student Symposium, Modlin Center for the Arts
Artist Talks, 4 to 5:40 p.m., Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art
(The talks are presented as part of the University of Richmond’s School of Arts and Sciences 2018 Student Symposium, from 1 to 6 p.m., Friday, April 20. The School of Arts and Sciences presents the Student Symposium every spring to showcase hundreds of student research projects from across the disciplines of the school.)
