"Patterns of Existence"- Student Art Shows Take Off

“When you don’t believe in it, the work doesn’t seem authentic. It’s that honesty that really makes the work strong,” said art major Julianna Wells. Wells’s first solo exhibition “Patterns of Existence” was truly nothing short of authentic. The exhibition took place at the ArtLab downtown and went from Feb. 6 to Feb. 9.

Wells’s work consisted of several minimalistic allegories all centered around the complexity and questionability of life and death. For Wells, this was more than just a project—it was a product of thoughts that originally presented themselves in her adolescent years but, over time, became apparent in her work.

Wells managed to capture the overall theme through various mediums such as oil paintings, graphite and lithographs. At first glance the colors in the exhibition could be mistaken for simple whites, but, when looking closer, the pastel blues, purples and hints of yellow become apparent. Wells’s pieces demanded more than just a gaze, but the viewer’s time and mind as well.

One of the pieces that particularly stood out to theater education major Darby High was “Reincarnation,” which depicted a dead vulture with flowers blooming from its chest. The lithograph was the visual equivalent of the quote, “In life, there is death.” High understood the piece as “the idea of the circle of life—things die so other things can exist. It’s sad but it makes you feel real.”

Art has the ability to evoke emotion, to make the viewer feel something real—something they often times find familiarity in. “Everyone can relate,” said music education major Amy Melton. “Even in personal beliefs there is a concurrent question about the future [...] it appeals to everyone.”

The atmosphere of the exhibition, much like the art itself, was melancholy. Wells’s artwork has the ability to make the viewer take a deep look inside themselves and question their beliefs. It’s always amazing when artwork is more than just something hanging on a wall. When it tells a story and makes the viewer reflect, the artist has done their job.

The next exhibition in the series will be by Columbus State student Demario Dotson beginning on March 3 and is titled “the Black, the Tired and the Uncomfortable.”