Sheridan Davenport, Mitch Tapia, & Daniel Zalla Senior Thesis Exhibitions
February 6, 2020
Xavier University and the Department of Art present thesis exhibitions by three senior art majors: Sheridan Davenport – Graphic Design/Printmaking, Mitchell Tapia – Graphic Design/Printmaking, and Daniel Zalla – Drawing/Painting. The exhibitions begin February 14 through the 28th.
Sheridan Davenport presents I which stands for Image, Identity, and interactivity, seeks to explore how race and ethnicity are evolving within the realms of social media. Since race is a social construct, the way in which humans define and perceive it shifts with society. Given the importance and prominence of social media today, Sheridan’s I explores the ways in which three minority individuals define their identities through Instagram. In using the Instagram grid system as a medium, she creates “12-tile” collages that tell the story of each person’s personal brand and racial experience. The social media representations of each person is brought to life through three installation sets with which the audience can interact with and pose for photos. Sheridan’s desire is to “create a fun experience that encourages new conversations about race. We all have more in common than we might initially realize and Instagram has become the playground on which we share this information.”
The Hard of Hearing is a critique of our ability to listen to one another. It uses a mix of both digital and print design to create five different 'places' where one must learn to be better listeners. Artist, Mitch Tapia, describes the purpose of his show as a way to teach others the importance of listening in a fun and innovative way. "People are becoming increasingly polarized in many different elements of our modern dialogue," he says. "My goal is to provide an experience that gets people thinking about easy, day-to-day solutions that they can live out on an individual scale." This highly interactive exhibit invites people of all ages to come and be a part of the conversation. The pieces range from building a house of cards to actually listening to the room around them.
Daniel Zalla presents his newest series Old Masters Young Artist. This collection of oil paintings and etchings attempts to bridge the gap between the freedom of childhood creations and the technical ambitions of classical artists. Tightly rendered figures dance in childlike landscapes and youthful dreams are portrayed in realism. These works pay homage, both to art history in general, as well as Daniel's own personal art history. They explore the limits of classical representation to create relevant work for a contemporary world.
Please join us for the Artists’ Reception on Friday, February 14, 5:00-7:30 p.m.
