Visual Arts
ARTIST TALKS: Please enjoy watching these virtual student presentations.
Featuring: Bridget Cunningham, Sean Dephillips, Ava DiSavino, Tyler Greenwood, Lilith Haig, Stephen Nadler, Samantha Siegel, Edwin Palma Solis, Aleks Szumilo, Tina Tully, and Yiran Zhang.
Talk One moderated by Associate Professor of Visual Arts Sheri A. Lullo
Talk Two moderated by Associate Professor of Visual Arts, Department Chair
Bridget Cunningham
Sean Dephillips
Ava DiSavino
Tyler Greenwood
Lilith Haig
Stephen Nadler
Samantha Siegel
Edwin Palma Solis
Aleks Szumilo
Tina Tully
Yiran Zhang
The Union College Community was sent home due to COVID-19 over a year ago, and although many students, faculty and staff have returned to campus, normalcy has not been restored. As our community continues to study and work through the pandemic, it becomes increasingly apparent that the old “normal” may never return. We have entered an interlude in which we are forced to move slower, stay inside more, and thoroughly examine our world. During this time of reflection, the senior fine arts students of Union College have turned to art.
The senior art show Interlude highlights the work made by Bridget Cunningham, Sean Dephilips, Ava DiSavino, Tyler Greenwood, Lilith Haig, Stephen Nadler, Samantha Siegel, Edwin Palma Solis, Aleks Szumilo, Tina Tullly, and Yiran Zhang since the pandemic began.
Bridget Cunningham is from West Orange, NJ and is majoring in Studio Fine Arts with a concentration in 3D animation and motion graphics. She is passionate about exploring the relationships between color, form, and movement as it relates to the 3D world.
Sean DePhillips is from Long Island, New York. He is majoring in Neuroscience and is double minoring in Studio Fine Arts and Music. The focus of his pieces are flight, and the form of wings.
Ava DiSavino grew up in Rockland, NY and is currently studying Art History and Studio Fine Arts at Union College. Her installation synthesizes data taken from a campus-wide voluntary survey for women, and fabricates it into an abstract array of sound, light, and narratives. Her intent is to amplify the voices of women in her community, and allow us an opportunity to empathize and reflect.
Sculptures by Tyler Greenwood of Kennebunk, Maine rely primarily on steel arranged in geometric forms. These pieces use soft finishes to bring out the rigid, and often practical, shapes.
Lilith Haig is from the Hudson Valley and is studying Studio Fine Arts with a concentration in Digital Media and Contemporary Art History. Her thesis deals with Materiality, Robotics, and Femininity, comprising dual interactive robotic sculptures featuring embroidered textiles and a research essay surveying the history of needlework in Feminism, Politics, and Art. Her work marries tradition with cutting-edge technologies, and juxtaposes historically masculine and feminine media within the arts.
Stephen Nadler explores photographic surrealism through a series of digital art portraits. “Each portrait captures the essence of loneliness we have experienced throughout the pandemic,” he says. “I express and challenge my creativity through a newly found interest in photo manipulation and digital art.”
Samantha Siegel is from New Vernon, New Jersey and is a Studio Fine Arts major and Film Studies minor at Union College. Her thesis project is a photographic series documenting New York City and surroundings areas one year into the pandemic. She captures the impact upon our daily lives caused by Covid-19, as well as the resiliency of people finding ways to adapt to our new normal.
Edwin Palma Solis grew up in the Bronx in New York City and is majoring in Studio Fine Arts and French at Union College. His installation focuses on the COVID impacts on people of color within the United States and France, while also focusing on the disparities in the health care, financial, and government systems. As a person of color who grew up in a low-income community, Edwin will demonstrate the frustrations, anger, and exhaustion of people who were heavily impacted by the pandemic with little to no resource or help.
Aleks Szumilo lives between New York City and Poland, and is an Organizing Theme major in Technology and Visual Design at Union College. She conducted and digitally captured interviews with immigrants in the Union community which were later displayed in replica USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) booths. With her thesis, she wanted to capture the intersectionality of the immigrant experience and identity.
Tina Tully grew up in both Westchester, NY and London, UK, and is studying Mathematics and Studio Fine Arts at Union College. She uses her identity as inspiration for her work. Her sculptures depict women of color from Union’s campus community, as a way to highlight their presence and give them a platform to speak.
Through art, these students have come together to reflect on the interlude of the 2020-2021 academic year.
