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Morgantown ReStored
Student Exhibition: Warner Theatre (141 High Street)
Various Artists, Fairmont State University Art Students
About: This exhibition is a grouping of works from eight undergraduate students enrolled in the Studio Art program at Fairmont State University. This collection serves as a visual dialogue, engaging the viewer in a thoughtful exploration of the artistic process. The challenge lies not only in the mastery of materials but also in the courage to question and redefine the very essence of what constitutes contemporary painting in our ever-changing world.
Curator: Joel Dugan, Chair of Fairmont State University Department of Architecture Art & Design.
Zara Harold
Judy (2023)
Oil on Hardboard
Women feel vast social pressure that has been instilled through centuries of patriarchal domination. These works illustrate man’s lust and desire for a “perfect” woman; one who is slim, with large breasts, does not talk back, and most importantly, is always ready to please him. The only way to truly be perfect in a man’s eyes is to be an inanimate object, a sexual toy just for him. My work is inspired by my own experiences with men and often feeling like the only way to keep their attention is through sex. These experiences are represented through the 90s blow-up doll, Judy. Judy represents the humor and reality of being the ideal woman: to be fetishized and objectified.
My artwork reminds women of the tribulations of the world and let men understand some of the feelings and experiences of women. The pieces play on a comparison of humorous images but with a stark and real meaning. Viewers experience the bitter reality of humor and horror as Judy explores womanhood, from being scrubbed clean to making ends meet. Judy lets you see just what perfection means.
Hannah Sprout
Boundaries (2023)
Oil on Canvas
Bee Spevock
Bee-Sting (2024)
Mixed Media on Paper
Dylan Allum
At the Ledge (2023)
Oil on Canvas
Inherited Trauma (2023)
Oil on Canvas
The work focuses on the trauma one might encounter or have to endure while growing up in this day of age. In my eyes I feel that some of the traumatic events faced while growing up are more normalized than they should be. People have become too numb to school shootings, mental health issues, bullying, drug abuse, etc. Some parents have a mind-set of that won’t happen to my kids because that only happens in big cities or “my child would never do that.” Ultimately, these events could be happening right in front of them, but their child is hiding their feelings; Or is too worried of what people might think so they don’t address the state of mind they are in.
Bee Spevock
Space and Time (2023)
Oil on Canvas
Jaztyn Messina
Pluck (2023)
Oil on Panel
Serene (2023)
Oil on Panel
Self (2022)
Oil on Canvas
Jasper White
At a Distance 2 (2023)
Oil and Fabric on Panel
Acknowledgements: Thank you to WV Women Work, City of Morgantown, and Mark Downs