Elmhurst College art majors who are graduating this fall will explore timely societal themes in thought-provoking ways during the College art department’s 52nd Annual Fall Capstone Art Exhibition.
Four senior art majors are showcasing their work in the exhibition, which begins on Nov. 23 and runs through Dec. 12 in the Barbara A. Kieft Accelerator ArtSpace. The culminating event for every graduating art major, the capstone exhibition requires students to create a body of work in their area of concentration (i.e. painting, sculpture, digital art, graphic design, or printmaking), then plan the exhibition and design the promotional materials for it.
Juan Mora, a graphic design major and first-generation college student from Chicago, has created an organization that spreads awareness about the immigration situation at the U.S. southern border and dispels myths about immigrants. Mora’s project uses a mix of digital and print media to create posters, a map infographic of the border, a shirt and a website to create materials for the organization.
Nicole Paglia, a photography major from Rolling Meadows, digitally and physically manipulated 10 photographs to depict her friends’ biggest fears. Paglia has placed first or second in some of Elmhurst College’s other art exhibitions, and is a 2016 Golden Apple Scholar.
Ian Stong, a printmaking and graphic design major from Mesa, Ariz., says his artwork tries “to shed light on the issues humanity is facing, and the moral implications.” Influenced by his love of punk rock, his work features bold imagery and bright color combinations, and involves some form or combination of handmade printing techniques.
Nova Uriostegui, a graphic design major from Morton Grove, created five deity character portraits and the branding for a false religion. She created advertisements, an overall brand style sheet with logo(s), a religious textbook cover, business cards and a pamphlet for each deity, along with instructions on how to worship each one and what each deity governs.
The Fall Capstone Art Exhibition runs through Thursday, Dec. 12, in the Barbara A. Kieft Accelerator ArtSpace. Built around a 20-foot-high particle accelerator dating back to the 1950s, the Accelerator ArtSpace is open on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from noon to 4:00 p.m. (The gallery will be closed on Thursday, Nov. 28, for the Thanksgiving holiday.) A public reception for the artists will be held on Saturday, Nov. 23, from 5:30–7:30 p.m.
Admission to the reception and exhibition is free and the public is invited.
This exhibition is one of about a dozen art shows that Elmhurst College hosts each academic year in two campus venues. The College also is home to an unparalleled collection of Chicago Imagist and Abstractionist Art, which explores the vibrant, often outrageous, yet precisely crafted works of Chicago artists between 1950 and the present. For more information, please contact Suellen Rocca, director of exhibitions, at (630) 617-6110 or [email protected].