Art students showcase final works in ‘Ouroboros’ capstone exhibition
Graduating art students at Utah State University will present the culmination of their undergraduate work in the BFA capstone exhibition, “Ouroboros,” which opened March 18 in the Tippetts and Eccles Galleries.
The exhibition features work from graduating students across several disciplines, including art education, drawing and painting, photography, ceramics, sculpture and printmaking. The show will run March 18 through April 1 and will be open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Ceramics artist Allie Saunders said the group chose the exhibition title together and felt the symbolism captured the moment graduating artists are experiencing.
“We just all got together and came up with title ideas and then voted as a group until we honed in on that title ‘Ouroboros,’” Saunders said. “It is referencing an ancient symbol of a snake eating its own tail. And it kind of symbolizes renewal, like endings and renewals, and kind of that continuous cycle as well as unity.”
Saunders said the meaning resonates with artists preparing to leave the program and begin their careers.
“It’s quite fitting for a group of senior graduating artists to kind of showcase the ending of a cycle and the renewal of us going out into the world as artists,” Saunders said.
Saunders, who primarily works in ceramics but also paints, plans to submit sculptural ceramic vessels for the exhibition.
“There are a bunch of sculptural vessels that I’ve constructed,” Saunders said. “These works are about exploring the kind of humanistic projections we put onto objects and art and where we look for humanity in objects. We kind of anthropomorphize things sometimes.”
The exhibition also provides students with experience beyond creating artwork, allowing them to participate in the entire exhibition process.
“We get to be in the studio and make the work, selecting and curating the works, but then we also get to collaborate on designing the show, doing the installation, the public outreach and reception,” Saunders said. “It’s really valuable experience for us to do all aspects of an exhibition, not just the art side of it.”
Saunders said one of the most exciting aspects of the show is seeing the work of classmates whose studio practices are often hidden behind closed doors.
“All these other students I’m doing this show with — I walk past them in the halls, and I’ve taken foundations courses with them,” Saunders said. “They’re all very familiar faces, but I’m not seeing what they’re getting down in their studio working on.”
Painter Elise Ames will also present a series of oil paintings created during the semester.
“I’m doing oil painting, oil on linen exclusively,” Ames said. “I’m working with appropriated imagery from medical journals and historical kinds of paintings, and I’m collaging those together through paint.”
Art displayed at the Tippetts and Eccles Galleries as shown on March 18.
Ames said her work is connected to an Undergraduate Research and Creative Opportunities grant project, a program at Utah State University that supports undergraduate research and creative projects.
“I have such a huge passion for art history, which is why it’s my minor, and it really informs the type of work that I make,” Ames said. “I think that if you want to be a serious artist, you have to be serious about knowing art and loving art.”
Although the paintings were created during the spring semester, Ames said the work reflects years of artistic development.
“I like to say that honestly, anything that I have made up until this point has taken me a lifetime,” Ames said. “It’s the result of years and years and years of work.”
Ames described the exhibition as both exciting and emotional for graduating students.
“It’s kind of bittersweet,” Ames said. “This is the last thing I’m going to really be doing at the school. I’ve been here for so long, and I’ve really kind of fallen in love with it.”
Ames said showing alongside fellow graduating artists makes the exhibition even more meaningful.
“I’m really excited to be able to show I’m very proud of the work that I’ve made,” Ames said. “I’m grateful to be shown alongside my friends.”
Ames also credited faculty members, including art professor Terry Powers, for pushing students to improve their work.
“I showed him a painting I made, and I was so proud of it,” Ames said. “He looks, and he goes, ‘Is it?’ And that one sentence, I was like, ‘Okay, I’m going to keep working on it for another two weeks.’”
The experience, Ames said, ultimately made the painting stronger.
“He really sees potential in all of us and pushes all of us,” Ames said.
Both artists said they hope the exhibition will encourage community members to visit and experience the work created by graduating students.
“I hope they just get inspired, maybe to create their own work,” Saunders said.
Ames echoed that sentiment and encouraged the public to attend.
“I think it’s totally worth it for even non-painters to come check out,” Ames said. “I’m very, very proud of our program.”