The Department of Art presents Resting Proximity
The Florida State University Department of Art invites the public to the inaugural exhibition of The FAB Gallery on Thursday, April 6 from 5-7 p.m. at 530 W. Call Street, which features a group exhibition of graduating BFA students’ work, curated by Chloe Sailor with support from Visiting Assistant Professor, Katie Kehoe. Chloe Sailor is a current MFA student and one of the recipients of the Department of Art/Museum of Fine Arts (MoFA) Graduate Assistant Awards.
Curatorial Statement
Resting Proximity features work created by the graduating BFA students that is not part of their thesis show yet stands out from other bodies of work they created during their time at FSU. I am reflecting on this selection of work as a reference to the students’ passage and experiences navigating art and education before, during, and after the pandemic, even though, that may not have been their original intention in creating the piece on view. College is a demanding time – balancing personal, school, and work responsibilities all while exploring one’s expanding world. The students dealt with these challenges all while adapting to an unprecedented time in human history that significantly altered the university experience.
The works you are observing call to mind a variety of experiences unique to the pandemic, which are all too relatable. And reflecting on these pieces, engages the viewer to look back on one’s own experience throughout the pandemic. Ander Barreto, Seana Leah, and Kayla Simpson’s work evokes the fragmentation of reality that resulted from our spaces of rest becoming hybrid spaces of work. Chelbi Robinson, Lillian Weller, and Morgan Nystrom’s work offer us impressions of soft and protective comforts that shield us from harm. And Alexis Alfonso, Julia Hayes, Michaela Meyer, and Keara Dana’s pieces conjure memories of what respite and warmth can be drawn from the interior spaces occupied during quarantine.
Exhibiting Artists
Alexis Alfonso, Ander Barreto, Keara Dana, Julia Hayes, Seana Leah, Michaela Meyer, Morgan Nystrom, Chelbi Robinson, Kayla Simpson, and Lillian Weller