Addie Ray prepared to hang her photos from her Mind Over Body series as part of the senior exhibition that opens March 18 in the Martha and Robert Fogelman Art Gallery.
It’s 2 a.m. in the University of Memphis art building. The British rock band The 1975 blasts through speakers as painting major Maggie McGrath works into the early morning, her eyes focused and her hands mucked with tar.
“I work a lot better at night,†the 21-year old senior said.
Using oil paints, tar and fibered aluminum, McGrath mixes the materials onto wood panels. Instead of painting with a typical brush, the artist uses sticks and trash bags, hoping to add a unique texture to her work.
“I work fluidly,†McGrath said. “A stream of consciousness, I let the piece create itself.â€
By the time she’s done, paint has splattered across the floor and stained her white Converses, but it’s worth it for the exhibition.
McGrath is one of nine U of M senior art majors who will be showcasing their work at In Flux, an exhibition that will take place in the Martha and Robert Fogelman Galleries of Contemporary Art from March 18-April 1.
The display, which opens with a reception Friday at 5 p.m., will continue the department’s tradition of showing work of graduating seniors at the end of each semester.
Patricia Daigle, the director of the galleries, spoke on the process students go through prior to the exhibition.
“Each semester they take a thesis preparation class and have a professor who works with them for their topic,†she said. The students aren’t limited to a particular theme, and the work shown varies every semester. “People have different interests,†Daigle said. “You’ll see a variety of different themes and issues.â€
McGrath, for example, hopes to bring awareness to environmental devastation.
“It’s environmental destruction from a human perspective,†she said. “I’m trying to bring to light how we’re treating our planet.â€
To depict this, McGrath incorporates actual natural resources into her art.
“I use tar and wood and other things that are taken from the environment,†she said. “It draws people in, and then it hits them. It’s actually a really dark and destructive work.â€
Not every student showcasing work has a specific message they’re trying to send.
U of M senior Ruben Garnica, 32, didn’t have a certain intention when he started on his display.
“It just developed over time,†he said.
For his piece, the sculptor constructed large boxes using recycled windows. As he continued to work on it, he grew more devoted to the project.
“I started feeling anxiety from being inside the box,†he said. “You start learning from it. It becomes expressive to you.â€
Garnica’s sculpture, called Refract, has a light in the first box. Using the glass, the light reflects throughout the other boxes, illuminating each one.
“It’s like a bending of the light,†he said.
Garnica isn’t sure how others will see his work, but he knows there are many ways of interpreting it.
“Some people will see it as a box, and others will see it as something else,†he said. “It’s like poetry. Every context of the sculpture has a meaning.â€
