The FGCU Art Program brought back alumni to the Wasmer Gallery to showcase their work as artists.
The opening reception and artists’ talk for the Citrus Flux exhibit was held on Oct. 12. Assistant Curator Anica Sturdivant invited former students Lauren Ashley S. Baker, Jessica Dehen and Karri Leamon to display their pieces.
In previous years, the exhibit was held in the ArtLab Gallery. However, due to restructuring of the exhibition spaces on campus, the alumni show was moved to the Wasmer Gallery. The larger space allowed three artists to participate whereas only two could participate in the past.
This year, each returning artist went on to receive a master of fine arts (MFA) degree.
“I go through everybody’s senior project portfolio that has ever graduated here or I’ll look at social media to see who has changed, improved and is still working,” Sturdivant said. “In this case, these three artists have gone to get their MFA.”
Baker graduated from FGCU in 2010 and received her MFA from Florida State University in 2018.
She specializes in drawing, performance, video, installation, sculpture and photography. Six of her works are displayed in the exhibit.
Her soft sculpture, titled BunBuns, is an interactive piece about the consumption and joy of candy. She was inspired by a one-pound cherry-flavored gummy rabbit. Within the piece, the red bunnies represent the candy. The darker bunnies represent the packaging left behind after the candy was consumed. She created the piece by scanning the packaging of the candy and printing those images onto a fabric.
“I enjoy making artwork that’s interactive,” Baker said. “I like subverting gallery spaces and the ways in which people interact with a gallery space. Artworks are not meant to be touched, so I like breaking those boundaries a bit.”
Her piece titled “Strata Drawing” is a loosely representational depiction of the earth strata.
“Techno fossils are going to become one layer far into the future. This piece is going to be used as a timestamp for this period of time that we exist in today,” she said.
Dehen graduated from FGCU in 2014 and received her MFA in painting from The University of Miami in spring 2022.
Her artwork is heavily influenced by the abstract expressionist movement. She uses acrylic paints, oil pigment and paint markers on canvas to express her personal experiences and innate connection with her natural surroundings.
Her five pieces showcased are part of a series that she started at the graduate level.
“They’re a series of large-scale, nonobject paintings,” Dehen said. “But, they’re through this filtered, hyper-saturated lens of a contemporary painter that’s trying to kind of reinvigorate something that they’ve done. I’m trying to find somewhere that we can create a new kind of hybrid of what they’ve done in the past with today’s temporary work.”
According to her artist statement, the piece “Glimpse” taught her a lesson when painting.
“Glimpse was a part of a triptych that wasn’t functioning well as a whole. It was a really good lesson in editing and knowing that sometimes even though we have these magical moments that are happening in paintings, we need to sacrifice some of them for the sake of composition,” she said.
Karri Leamon graduated from FGCU in 2018 and received her MFA from Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, Herron School of Art and Design in 2021.
She specializes in sculpture and furniture design. Five of her pieces are displayed in the exhibit.
Her sculptures Work in Process and Whalefall Vertebrae were both made using styrofoam. She credits everything she has learned to FGCU.
“I learned everything that I am doing currently in my work from my time here because of my sculpture teacher,” Leamon said. “I found my style and my inspiration from FGCU.”
She was motivated to pursue her MFA after attending the alumni shows while she was a FGCU student.
“It feels really rewarding to be back. It’s like I made a full-circle moment. When I saw this show, it inspired me to go on and continue to pursue my art and go and get my master’s. So, I hope that the current students are inspired to do that as well,” she said.
In tandem with the Citrus Flux opening reception was the unveiling of “The Mural Project: Psychology of Sustainability.”
This project was completed by FGCU alumni Ehren Gerhard, who graduated in 2009, and Michael Santacroce, who graduated in 2020.
They collaborated on two mural-style paintings that explore the “Psychology of Sustainability” and how it is incorporated into everyday life.
“The concept behind it was how to sustain yourself as a person, both mentally and physically. Also, looking at the bigger picture of sustainability in the form of the environment around you.” Santacroce said. “There are different approaches to it as well. There is one more aggressive approach. It’s all about not being angry at the world around you and wanting change to happen, but they’re trying to pursue change. The second mural is a more serene, calming look into nature and its impact.”
The piece is installed at the end of the Arts Complex Courtyard.
Sturdivant hopes the event opening made current art students excited for life after FGCU.
“I hope they get some excitement about life after their bachelors but I also hope they get some networking opportunities. Here is somebody who went to the same program as you. It would be great for them to be able to get together casually or know about each other’s exhibitions in Florida,” she said.
The Citrus Flux exhibit will be open in the Wasmer Art Gallery through Nov. 16
