Three Bronxville High School students – Lilly Martin, Viktoria Schmuck and Vance Wood – have their artwork on display at the prestigious OSilas Gallery at Concordia College as part of the gallery’s StArt Regional High School Art Exhibit through Jan. 21.
The annual exhibit showcases the work of 88 talented high school students from 31 public and private schools across Westchester, Fairfield, Rockland and Orange counties and the Bronx. During the opening reception on Jan. 11, judges critiqued the students’ work, which ranged from paintings to ceramics to photography. Wood, a junior, was among six students to receive an Award of Excellence for her self-portrait drawing.
“Vance’s self-portrait is striking because of its bold contrast and variety of texture,” art teacher Courtney Alan said. “It catches your eye immediately as you walk into OSilas Gallery. Vance has incredible mark-making skills. She is able to get very detailed with a few strokes of the pencil. She also renders a wide range of values throughout the piece. You never get stuck in one area of her drawing because she guides your eye around with the play of dark to light."
For her drawing, Wood said she chose to represent herself in her bedroom surrounded by a few of her favorite things – her dog, her guitar and kettle corn. Meanwhile, Schmuck presented an acrylic painting of several pieces of fruit, and Martin showcased her work related to lionfish by applying similar techniques with different media. She used etching techniques to draw the lionfish on a scratchboard and sgraffito to draw the lionfish on a vase.
OSilas Gallery is located on the campus of Concordia College in Bronxville, in the Donald A. Krenz Academic Center on the second level of Scheele Memorial Library. StArt 2018 is sponsored by the Heart of Neiman Marcus, which supports organizations that bring enriching arts experiences to youth.
In addition, 11 Bronxville High School students – Mimi Buendia, Claire Kraemer, Maggie Miller, Viena Pentikainen, Sally Reynolds, Lucy Rizzo, Kiki Shinsato, Oskar Thewlis, Martha Thomas, Xavier Zhang and Zach Zucker – will have their work displayed at the Katonah Museum of Art during the Young Artist Exhibition 2018 from Jan. 21 through Feb. 11.