Cantor Art Gallery to Exhibit Works by Graduating Seniors

The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery at the College of the Holy Cross presents Major: Works from the 2011 Senior Concentration Seminar, artwork produced by graduating seniors in the visual arts department, from Thursday, April 28 through Friday, May 27. 

Each spring semester the Cantor Art Gallery mounts an exhibition of work by graduating seniors enrolled in the “Senior Concentration Seminar” offered by the visual arts department and studio art faculty.  The two-semester course is designed to provide students with the unique opportunity to work for extended periods of time, and produce artwork that reflects their own vision and technical abilities.  Instructors for this year’s seminar are Susan Schmidt, associate professor of visual arts, and David Gyscek, studio coordinator. 

Major senior student artists include Haley Allen, Brian Blum, Kathryn Cody, Johanna Gavin, Wilza Jean, Lily Marshall, Cory Mims, Mary Kate O’Keefe, Kieran Padget, Tina Sato, Caitlin Ward, and Miriam Westin. Gyscek, who taught the seminar during the spring semester, says the students used a variety of media including painting, installation, photography, drawing, sculpture, and combinations of them. 

“Much of their work derives from a need to be responsive to their surroundings (both cultural and spatial), their experiences, and their chosen materials. They are engaged with their contemporary moment and are socially conscious as they try to reconcile their beliefs and attitudes with the world they are entering,” explains Gyscek. “They look for connections between forms, people, and places in the hopes of bridging socio-economic, political, ideological, and religious divides.” 

 The “Senior Concentration Seminar” provides each student with a private studio space, opportunities to travel to exhibitions in the New England region, to meet with professional curators and artists and to have their work regularly reviewed by Holy Cross faculty and guest artists.  The seminar culminates with the planning and execution of a group exhibition mounted in the Cantor Art Gallery under the guidance of the gallery staff and the visual arts faculty. 

In conjunction with the exhibition, the gallery will host special events. All events will be held in the Cantor Art Gallery unless otherwise noted.  

Thursday, April 28, 10 a.m. Exhibit opens: Major: Works from the 2011 Senior Concentration Seminar 

Thursday, April 28, 12 – 1 p.m. A roundtable discussion with the artists 

Thursday, April 28, 5 – 6:30 p.m. Opening reception 

The Gallery will be closed May 14 and 21.   Gallery Information 

Founded in 1983 through the generosity of Iris & B. Gerald Cantor, the Cantor Art Gallery serves both as a venue for a changing series of historical and contemporary public exhibitions, as well as a vital resource for Holy Cross faculty and students, linking exhibitions to the broader liberal arts curriculum.  

The hours for the Cantor Art Gallery are Monday – Friday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Saturdays 2 – 5 p.m. Located in O’Kane Hall, 1st Floor, College of the Holy Cross, 1 College Street, Worcester, Mass., 01610.  Admission to the gallery is free.  

For additional information please call 508-793-3356 or visit the Gallery’s website at: holycross.edu/cantorartgallery.