A part / Apart : Scripps Senior Art Thesis Show

The Senior Art Exhibition is a cornerstone of the studio art major at Scripps College. Each year, the Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery shows artworks by graduating seniors that constitute their thesis projects. In addition to making the works on view, the seniors conceptualize the exhibition, install their pieces, draft artist statements and wall texts, and publicize the event. However, due to unprecedented times, the global pandemic of COVID-19 has disrupted this tradition. The gallery space lies empty, on an empty campus, with abandoned studio spaces, paint still left uncovered.
This year’s iteration, "A part / Apart," features artworks by Huize Huang SCR ‘20, Miriam Bankier SCR ‘20, Emily Zhao HMC ‘20 , Allegra Mojdehi SCR ‘20, Alexi Butts SCR ‘20, Tori Smith SCR ‘20, Julia Read HMC ‘20, Sabrina Drescher SCR ‘20, and Eleanor Schiffler SCR ‘20. It showcases these remarkable artists as they creatively redirected their work to fit with a virtual exhibition in the matter of a month. Take this moment to consider this new virtual space, and how the work is connected in collective experience despite sudden fragmentation, because regardless, it is collective fragmentation.
Certainly a global pandemic was not on the list of anyone's plans for graduating. The past 4 years have not followed traditional predictability, and have only proven that the only certainty is uncertainty, and that we are built for adaptation, resourcefulness, and responsiveness. This group of seniors are no exception. Ranging across mediums from virtual reality, video installation, sculpture and 2D work, focusing on the individual and collective identity. Artificiality and limitations of the body pulsate through this show. As these four years come to a close, what lies ahead is truly unknown.
We present to you the first virtual exhibition for Scripps Studio Art majors.
Open to the public, "A part / Apart" will run from May 4th to December 2020, and admission is free.