Carnivora Domesticatus

Sculpture by Maile Iwanaga
Photo by Valerie Graham

A very unique display was presented by Maile Iwanaga called, Carnivora Domesticatus, to fulfill her Bachelors of Fine Arts at CSULB. The title of the exhibition,"Carnivora Domesticatus", roughly translates into, Domesticated Animal. The pieces brought a new spin to the art gallery because instead of being on the wall, Iwanaga's art was displayed in large animals on the floor.

I found the unicorn looking pig (pictured below text) to be whimsical looking. The ceramic pig had markings on it that would suggest the best cuts of pork.

Photo by Valerie Graham

Iwanaga stated, “All my life I have had a strong relationship to food. My first passion has always been to cook, and then I later decided to pursue ceramics. The time I spent in the kitchen helps to continuosly inform my artistic process.”

Another odd feature of one of Iwanaga’s pieces was that of her ceramic tiger. The tiger had an empty stomach due to the fact that there was an open space in it.

“It looks like someone took the engine out of a car, “ said one viewer.

Photos by Valerie Graham

Iwanaga went on to explain her work saying, “ I’m employing and celebrating carnivores to further explore ideas of consumption and domestication. I found that I was interested in the interaction between the role of predator and prey. This work that I did is an investigation into how the wild and perhaps even dangerous animals can interact with the familiar and ordinary things in our lives”

Catalyst

Metal sculpture and jeweler Tessia VanderGroen displayed her metal sculptures and handmade jewelry in compliance to earn her Bachelors of Fine Arts in Metalwork.

The Merlino Gallery on campus exhibited Tessia's fine and intricate metal work in the form of sculpted wall pieces, bracelets, rings, broaches and hair accessories.
Photo by Valerie Graham





"The themes for my pieces sprouted from a very quiet place" said Tessia.

"Preservation, solitude, growth, confusion and self -discovery were the driving points of these pieces that I have sculpted. No matter how instinctive or forced the process is, I feel like my work tries to take on a life of its own. That quietness from my themes explain themselves formally when I can't even do it justice with my own words."

Sculpted piece by Tessia VanderGroen
Photo by Valerie Graham

Handmade hairpiece and ring by Tessia VanderGroen
Photo by Valerie Graham

The theme for the title of her work, "Catalyst", is drawn from the people or things that present themselves as catalysts and affect Tessia's work.

"I pull from significant experiences and changes in my life which act as the forces that cause activity between my metal and I. They ( her sculptures) themselves are not altered in any way, but rather I interpreted them to take the physical form through my hands" she said .

Wall sculpture by Tessia VanderGroen
Photo by Valerie Graham

One of Tessia's pieces, the metal sculpted spiked bracelet, was a favorite of one viewer.

"This bracelet is so interesting. I would never wear it out in public though because it looks like it would be a little dangerous. I'd be afraid of accidentally wounding someone with one of those gnarly spikes" said senior Reina Rogers.

Spiked bracelet by Tessia VanderGroen
Photo by Valerie Graham

Tessia thanked her family and room mate for their, "Love, support and encouragement."
She also gave a special thank you to what she referred to as her "metals family" for helping her "grow and being by her side with torch in hand."

Holy Ly

In this exhibit, Holy Ly , senior Fine Arts major, explores shapes found in nature in her untitled ceramic sculptures on display in the Dutzi Gallery on campus. Ly is displaying her work as a requirement to fulfill her Bachelors of Fine Arts from CSULB.

"It took me a few moths and I am happy with the results of the pieces" said Ly.


Photo by Valerie Graham



"I was inspired by life and nature; how everything keeps on evolving and transforming into something new" said Ly.

Holy also stated that, "Through this body of work, I'm exploring relationships of line, negative space and the way they flow together with the interlocking web and organic shapes. I hope to intrigue the viewer and take them to a quieter, and simpler mindset through the complexity of my work."





Photo by Valerie Graham

Symbolon

Claudia Morales McCain's exhibition "Symbolon" was on display in the Gatov Gallery at CSULB to fulfill a requirement for her Masters of Fine Art and Painting.

Claudia was born in San Salvador, El Salvador, and later studied drawing and painting at in the Intensive Study Abroad Program at Centro Nacional De Arte in El Salvador . She went on to gain her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drawing and Painting, Cum Laude, from Cal State University Fullerton in 2008.

Her exhibition, Symbolon, is what she describes as "A presence that indicates that which is absent."


Photo by Valerie Graham


The painting on display depicted that of abstract trees. Morales saw trees as a symbol of transformation, and thus the subject of her series in the exhibition.

"Personal transformation and growth were essential in being the central theme to this body of work" said Claudia.

"In 2010, I began painting a series of works which focused on using a vocabulary of personal metaphors based in nature. These archetypal trees that you see here became a way to record my personal transformations in paint."

One can see the battles and victories as they became portrayed through Claudia's bold brush strokes.





Photo by Valerie Graham



Claudia stated that, "By denying myself familiar compositional structures , I worked through problems while searching to understand the form that was emerging through the act of painting. This reconstruction helped to mirror my life."

In Transit: Developing States of Picture Making

Photo by Valerie Graham


The artwork by Lisa Jonas and Jacqueline Gutierrez (and other students) was featured at the Max L. Gatov Gallery at Cal State Long Beach. The concept of the featured work by many of the students was "In Transit: Developing States of Picture Making."
The shown work shows the progressiveness of a single piece of art work done in different mediums.

Gutierrez and Jonas are presenting this work to fulfil a Bachelors of Fine Arts.

The photo shown above was by Lisa Jonas entitled "Morning" and it was Conte on paper.

{E}

Photo by Valerie Graham



The Opening Reception for {E} (pronounced "eh") featured the art of student artist Noelia Bermudez. Noelia is putting on this reception as a requirement to fulfill her Bachelors of Fine Art in the FIBER program at Cal State Long Beach. Noelia's work was displayed in the Dr. Maxine Merlino Gallery on Sunday, March 13, 2011. Bermudez stated that, "My artwork is an exploration of natural materials."



Photo by Valerie Graham


The art piece is made up of bamboo, handmade paper, waxed linen and quite a bit of red spray paint.


The structure took up the entirety of the small gallery, however it proved to be worth it. Noelia's artwork seemed to be semi- interactive as viewers were able to walk in and out of the magnanimous art piece. "I put a lot of work into this piece and I hope that many enjoy seeing my passion and creativity before them," said Bermudez who has been working on it since September 2010.

Photo by Valerie Graham





Noelia's project and art piece {E} can be seen in the Dr. Maxine Merlino Gallery on Monday,Tuesday and Thursday from noon til 5 p.m. and on Wednesday from noon til 7 p.m.

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