The Faculty Art Exhibit Displays Stunning Creations.
This year’s Faculty Art show took place in the Art Center, exhibiting pieces of artwork created by a number of GA Visual Arts teachers. The faculty members that contributed to the exhibition included David Love, Jess Gisafi Killo, Liz Buckman, Sofia Maggio, Alia Tahvildaran, Sarah Krupnick-Ritz, and Nicholas Wynia. The exhibit displayed drawings, paintings, photographs, and sculptures; each piece possessed a contemporary and expressive element.
This captivating oil painting is part of the Jetty Series done by Ms. Burkus, Middle School Art Teacher and Art Department Head. While working on this piece, Ms. Burkus mentioned that nature had been her main inspiration, thus choosing jetty rocks. Jettys are long structures that protect coastlines from currents and tides; they are primarily made of wood, earth, stone, or concrete. Ms. Burkus experiments with colors, tones, and depth while painting these rocks; notice that each side of the jetty produces a different tone. Ms. Burkus is a colorist, creating a sense of depth by using different shades of the same color in this piece. While painting multiple pictures in this series, she noticed that her style changed as time passed, saying, “These pieces are far along in the span of my series, so these are more like me than any work before.” Ms. Burkus adds, “My regular landscapes look realistic, while my previous ones are more impressionistic.” Impressionistic art is distinctive and tasteful, which assuredly describes Ms. Burkus’s Jetty Series.
This eye-catching sculpture titled My Mobile Home, was made by Ms. Krupnick-Ritz, Upper School Art Teacher and Head of Truesdell house. She used a number of materials to create this piece, such as plaster and clay. While Ms. Krupnick-Ritz used a variety of traditional materials to create this sculpture, she has also added a few personal materials to this piece, using what she calls “found objects.” These meaningful objects were brought from her own home, specifically referencing the “changing nature of [her] own family” and “the passage of time.” According to Ms. Krupnick-Ritz, the house is made to feel like an exoskeleton since as her oldest son moves out of college, the home that she was once filled with love and people, is now just a house that is too large. She also says that, “It is kind of impossible” to balance work and home life for women, but in the eyes of the world, it is expected for women to make it happen. Ms. Krupnick-Ritz envisions herself peddling on the unicycle with hopeless little wings failing to help her keep her empty shell of a home afloat. While we all face our own struggles, the way Ms. Krupnick-Ritz has expressed her own is absolutely inspiring and certainly a reason to take a peek at her work.
This exhibit is now over, but feel free to ask our wonderful art teachers about their artwork!
