
By Ryan O’Connell Associate Editor The Mazmanian Gallery held a reception for their annual juried show, featuring painting, sculpture, and graphic design work from 25 different student artists, on Jan. 28. This year’s exhibition was curated by guest juror David Roane, a Princeton alumni and an art teacher, coach, and member of the diversity team at Noble & Greenough School in Dedham. Roane was responsible for selecting work that spoke well together, as well as the first, second, third, and Art & Ideas theme award winners, said Ellie Krakow, director of the Mazmanian Gallery. Prior to announcing the award recipients, Roane gave thanks to Krakow, Mazmanian Gallery intern Marcus Falcão, the Art Department, the artists who submitted to the juried show, and the students of Framingham State in attendance. First place was awarded to Maddison Behringer for her typography book of the letter B. Roane described the piece as a “model of craftsmanship,” “vested with intent,” and “masterfully placed.” Second place was awarded to Eli Gottschalk for her comic depicting a queer young adult relationship and mental health awareness. Roane added the work showed “excellent craftsmanship,” that the topic was deserving of awareness, and Gottschalk’s piece set a “hopeful tone into the future.” Third place was awarded to Eliza Gaston for her photograph pairings - one of overalls and a shirt laid over a tree branch, and a second of a woman removing her top from behind - both mounted on fragments of denim. Roane said he enjoyed the playfulness of the piece, its inviting nature, and how it piques the viewer’s curiosity. The Arts & Ideas theme award was awarded to Ziyuan Zhang for her painting of an ocean from the seafloor, and its connection to the Arts & Ideas theme “Vision & Vitality.” Roane pointed out the aerial perspective - the vision - and the swirling water - the vitality - in Zhang’s piece, and said both contributed to a “sense of wonder” and “full immersion” into the work. Behringer, a senior communication arts major with a minor in graphic design, said it felt “really cool” to be in the juried show. “This was my first year ever submitting to it, and I was honored to be chosen as one of the students who were going to be presented,” she added. She said her typography book - which she completed last fall as the final for her typography class - consists of nine spreads, each of which pair a letter form and text. Behringer said it was fascinating to watch people she’d never met flip through the typography book. “It was an interesting experience to see how they were perceiving it without any of the context,” she added. Behringer said she really liked Zhang’s piece. “I just think it was very visually pleasing,” she said. Mary Zouharis, a freshman studio art major with a concentration in illustration, had a cardboard sculpture of her bust - glued with hundreds of snippets of photographs taken of her - accepted into the juried show. Zouharis said it was “really fun” to be included in the juried show, and she’s never had any of her work shown in a gallery before. “It feels kind of like a thing that I would never be able to do, so it’s just nice to be a part of it,” she said. Zouharis said the bust is an exact replica - complete with measurements of her head and facial features - and was built as an assignment for her form and structure class. The base is made of cardboard, she said, and its “skin” is a collage of cutouts sourced from 125 different photos of her head and shoulders, taken from 360 degrees around her. Zouharis said the photos were difficult, as she began with thin, complicated cutouts on one side of the face that took a long time to cut and glue. She added she also put things where they didn't belong. “In the hair there’s a few curl strands that have a photo of my eye on it, because I was like, ‘Why not?’ “And also I was running out of hair photos,” she said. Autumn Ray, a junior majoring in studio art with a concentration in illustration and business and a minor in art history, had her painting “Pretty Landscape” included in the juried show. Ray said the painting, which depicts a person laid against a tree and consumed by vines and flowers, was done as an assignment for her landscape painting class. “I wanted to make it very beautiful but also have the human be grotesque,” she said. Ray said this was the first time she has submitted to the juried show, and seeing her artwork in the show is “cool, but also kind of embarrassing. “I don’t usually have my art on display like this, so it’s very shocking,” she said. She added her favorite piece was Falcão’s, a sculpture of a golden eagle made of reclaimed fabric. Andreas Chaniotakis, a senior studio art major with a concentration in art education and a minor in 5-12 visual art education, had a still life painting accepted into the juried show, titled “Artery of Red.” The painting, which depicts a green watering can resting on a red cloth, “focuses on the fabric rather than the objects, and objects trying to frame the fabric instead of the other way around,” Chaniotakis said. He added he chose the red fabric because he thought it would be the most interesting hue to work with both with shadow and “trying to get all of the different reds out of the red. “Red isn’t just red, it’s all these other colors mixed together - so I was experimenting with that,” he said. Chaniotakis said while this isn’t the first show he’s had artwork featured in, this was his first inclusion in an exhibit at Framingham State. “I’m really happy that I got into one of the student shows. … It feels great, especially with all my friends here and seeing their art,” he said. “In my senior seminar class there’s probably four or five of us who have art up in there,” he added. “It’s really fitting because we’re all in the senior seminar, you know, closing out our time here at school, and we’re starting to make art that’s getting noticed. I think that’s really important.” Chaniotakis said he really enjoyed the sequential drawing projects displayed in the gallery. “I think that class produced some amazing stuff, especially the one where it shows the before and after … really interesting to see the process.” Zen Crosby, a junior studio art major with a concentration in ceramics and a minor in marketing, had a self portrait included in the show, depicting her holding a joint among her houseplants and a butterfly. Crosby said this is actually her third year having a piece included in the juried show. “I’m delighted that I have the honor to put my work in a show surrounded by other talented artists,” she said. Her self portrait, titled “Natural Habitat,” was made for her painting methods class in the fall, she said. Crosby added the assignment was simply to create a self portrait, but she likes to “experiment with a lot of abstract and surreal placement of myself in my art. “I like to imagine the worlds that could be lived in, and I imagine myself living amongst my plants, high as a kite,” she said. Crosby added she’d like readers to visit @zencrosbyart on Instagram. Marcus Falcão, a junior majoring in art history and studio art with a concentration in illustration, had a sculpture of a golden eagle made of upcycled fabric scraps included in the juried show. Falcão said the eagle is specifically made of discarded Gucci products, and was made as part of the Reimagine Fashion project, led by Fashion Design & Retailing Professor Ruirui Zhang. “It was a big focus on sustainability,” he added. Falcão said the sculpture was finished in two weeks, and the initial frame of the bird was the most challenging step. “I’m not too familiar with sculpture, and you need to make a base to put the fabric on top,” he said. “It was a lot of experimenting with materials. “It’s kind of a mess underneath … a lot of duct tape, a lot of foam, a lot of wire, a lot of everything that could be glued,” he added. Falcão said he was glad to be included in the show, and finds the curation process interesting. “You don’t know what's going to be chosen, and I love that - what do they want to see?” Falcão said he wants to encourage everyone to submit to the Mazmanian Gallery’s juried shows. “Everyone should submit to it,” he said. “Even if you’re not an art student, even if it’s something you did - some silly project for a class or whatever, submit anything. “They love variety, they love photography, things that aren’t the usual.” [ Editor’s Note: Maddison Behringer is an Associate Editor for The Gatepost and Marcus Falcão is a Staff Illustrator for The Gatepost. ]