By Connor Torpey
Arts & Culture Editor
Despite the impacts of COVID and the cancellation of art festivals like the South End Arthop, the gallery in the McCarthy Art Center continues to show excellent works of art, from students and professionals alike, and is open to members of the Saint Michael’s College campus community.
The McCarthy Art gallery is located inside the McCarthy Art Center and has featured Senior Capstone projects from art and design majors all semester. The gallery is curated and directed by Associate Professor of Art and Design, Brian Collier, in collaboration with faculty, staff and students. A new student exhibit is featured each week, and by the end of this semester a total of 14 different exhibitions featured will be featured, six of which have already been displayed. These exhibits feature all sorts of art mediums, from paintings to sculptures and everything in between.
Last week “Way Home” by Matthew Stackhouse was displayed. This display featured two large squares made of different materials. In Stackhouse’s artist statement he said “I have always been fascinated by architecture and interior design. As a child I would fill graph paper notebooks with floor plans of my dream home, even drawing labels for what furniture would go where. This work is an attempt at incorporating natural materials into a formal artwork for an ‘at home setting.’” Using materials either found or reused, I have created these scapes where the mind is free to wander. I wish for those who look at my work not to see it, but be seen by it, and become a part of the environment which is created.”
“Momentum Zero” by Kiara Garrity is on display from March 15 to 21 which features sculptures made out of rock, wood, rope, and glass. Kiara Garrity an Education and Art and Design double major, said she was inspired by the small rocks surrounding the Sloan Art building, and thought they would be good material to focus her piece around. “One theme you can notice throughout my pieces is balance. I like to work with gravity and I often rely on it a lot. The structures that I build to support my sculptures are often not the sturdiest. Although this creates a lot of stress and anxiety for me, I like being able to make sculptures on the verge of collapse. I am influenced by the materials I find and the pressure that comes from the short window of time that I had to create new sculptures for senior studios,” she said in her Artist’s Statement.
For more information on the McCarthy Art Gallery check out their website. https://knightsite.smcvt.edu/mccarthygallery/