Twenty pieces from Edinburg and Brownsville art students will be displayed at 6 p.m. today as part of the “Juried Student Exhibition” in the Art Gallery at Rusteberg Hall on the Brownsville campus.
Cande Aguilar, a Brownsville-native artist who is “internationally recognized,” will be the judge of the exhibit.
“There was about 49 applicants and there will be 20 that we’ll be exhibiting from both Brownsville and Edinburg,” Gallery Coordinator and UTRGV Art Lecturer Alejandro Macias said. “Cande Aguilar is a practicing artist. … He was accepted to the Texas Biennial, which is a big-statewide search for artists within Texas and cities surrounding the border of Texas.”
The work featured will have no specific theme and includes sculptures, drawings and paintings.
“I kinda specifically don’t like setting themes for juried exhibitions because each student has their own voice,” Macias said. “I’d rather have them submit the work they want to submit.”
Alexandria Canchola, a graduate art student whose work will be featured, said art is a challenge and students should visit the openings to keep learning.
“Arts means a lot of different things for different people, but for me, it means a way to learn more about myself,” Canchola said. “You can never be an expert. That’s why I love it so much because you’re always learning.”
Her piece, “A Cold Okay,” is a polyester-plate lithography based on a book she is writing.
“It’s more like a contemporary-modern technique in printmaking. I wanted to try different things,” she said. “Putting a place together to create larger images.”
Mayra Cerda, a graduate art student, submitted a piece titled “Night Dreaming” and said it is important for the campus community to attend the gallery openings to know what students are creating.
“It’s interesting to see what students are doing here. Not only local artists or professors, but to get to see the students’ work,” Cerda said.
Her piece is a charcoal drawing inspired by late-night drives in her car. The drawing features the inside of her car along with her reflection on the sideview mirror.
“So, when I thought about night, I thought about how I’m always driving very late at night and I don’t have AC in my car. So, I always have my windows down, listening to music, and kind of zoning out, like, daydreaming but I’m dreaming at night,” she said.
The exhibition is open to the public and will run until April 13.
For more information, email Macias at alejandro.macias@utrgv.edu.
