The Starting Line:
A Digital Student Exhibition
Staring at a blank piece of paper with pencil in hand, the possibilities can seem limitless. To so many artists, beginning a work is one of the biggest hurdles to the creative process- the uncertainty of starting something new without any constraints can often be more constricting than any assignment. Composition, space, tone, form, all these compete for focus, both in our thoughts and in the unmarked page. But also for many artists, regardless of this struggle, or their own individual reasoning, it always starts the same: with a line.
This digital gallery space was designed as a companion piece to a physical exhibition at the University of New Hampshire Durham campus, in the Paul Creative Arts Center. The exhibition features the works of students from Fall 2023 Introductory Drawing Courses, instructed by professors Sarah Elliott, Brett Gamache, Kate Knox, Josh Rondeau, Emily Trenholm, as well as the works from Introductory Sculpture, taught by professor Sachiko Akiyama, and Intermediate Woodworking, by professor Leah Woods, without all of whom this exhibition would not be possible.
Susan Bernhard '26 Sociology & Justice Studies
Hannah Kelly, '26 Studio Art, Maeve Collins, ' 27 Environmental Engineering
Construction lines, plumblines, horizon lines, all make up the bones of our artwork and our view of the world around us. Line feeds the formal elements that we as artists use as tools, whether this is a conscious placement onto the paper, or if it is the technical understanding of line that enables us to play within new spaces and media.
Sara Scott '27 Wildlife Conservation & Biology, Chloe Jackson '25 Nursing, Leila Roschitz-Scammell '26 Biochemistry
Simon Quinn '24 Political Science
Kelly McCarthy '26 Studio Art, Mia Tingley '27 Art & Art Education
These structural understandings of objects and more linear architectural work, feed into our perception of the world around us, and how those structures leave room for more gestural, free flowing line and marks.
Luke Murray '26 Studio Art
Alana Burch '26 Studio Art
Line becomes pattern and texture, intentional exaggeration of form and space. From a starting point, to a "finishing" stage, where it can act as surface as well as depth.
Top: Julia Fichera '26 Business Administration- Marketing & ISBA, Jess Calarese '27 Environmental Sustainability
Bottom: Mia Tingley '27 Art and Art Education, Tala Hammon '27 Undeclared
Aliya Hinedi '26 Psychology & Justice, Grace Olivieri '25 Animal Science
Grace Olivieri '25 Animal Science
Just as all great forests must begin with a seed, all great works must begin with a line, be it on the page that the work has been created, or on an earlier piece where the fundamentals were first learned.
Kanan Kalke '26 Studio Art
Diego Pacheco Galdeano '25 Electrical & Computer Engineering, David Suh '27 Chemical Engineering
The Starting Line will be on view in the Paul Creative Arts Center's 'Art Store Gallery' at the beginning of the Spring 2024 semester,
February 12th through March 1st.
Works curated by 2023-2024 Studio Intern Erin McKeen '24 BFA in Studio Art, under the advising of Professor Brian Chu
