Forum 2011 showcases latest work from Virginia art students

Julie DiNisio

Staff Writer

On Saturday evening, 1708 Gallery held The Forum 2011, a showcase and critique of current art students’ latest works.

From 6 to 8 p.m., six up-and-coming artists – three undergraduate and three graduate students – presented and narrated slides of their artistic endeavors in a casual, intimate setting. University of Richmond art professor Erling Sjovold acted as the critic and professional presence.

1708 Gallery’s director Emily Smith summed up the purpose of the third-annual Forum.

“It gives up-and-coming artists the opportunity to present their work to an audience … of art professionals,” Smith said. “It also serves to introduce these artists to a wider audience.”

VCU undergraduate Conor Backman, majoring in Painting and Sculpture, began the presentation with his construction-based series. It included oil paintings mimicking the look and texture of plywood, drywall and other construction-inspired materials.

With his pieces, Backman said he was exploring “painting as an object and its relationship to sculpture.” Professor Sjovold declared the artwork to be a “collapsing of pop art” and “a reflection of the economic status of the country.”

Following Backman was University of Richmond student Sadie Runge, an environmental science and studio art major. Runge tied both of her majors into her presentation to raise awareness about water quality in the James River and Chesapeake Bay. Tenee Hart, a senior at the University of Mary Washington, explored the “roles society place on us” in her grandiose, somewhat morbid art installations.

After a brief interlude, the graduates took the stage with their collections.

VCU student Catherine Brooks showed her thesis work titled “Embody Encode,” which is currently on display at the Anderson Gallery. In this exhibition, Brooks has played with bright colors and geometric patterns to convey a “DNA code in space that gives us a connection to the Divine.” She says she found her inspiration in Hinduism and used “the power of pattern as a metaphor for spiritual discipline.”

Cheyenne Crawford from James Madison University infused a personal narrative into her introduction, a fitting touch to her memory and history inspired art.

However, VCU student Jeffrey Kenney sparked possibly the most engaging dialogue with his uncommon photography.

“I took simple households materials, like tin foil and garbage bags, and transformed them into a visual experience that suggests vastness,” Kenney said.

Svojold declared it a “metaphor of the era of the human-made environment” prompting a discussion on the “cosmos, the bigger sense of life.”

In addition to their original presentation, students’ works will be featured in an exhibit at Capitol One from May 11 to Sept. 7.