For the sixth and final week of Art Studio Senior Thesis Exhibitions, the artwork of students Saskia Villaflor Curry ’25, Owen Forbes ’25, Sebastian Frowein ’25, Calista Huang ’25, Nomi Kuntz ‘25, Sylvie Moran ’25, Billi Newmyer ’25, and Noah Shacknai ’25 went on display at the Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery. The Argus reached out to these talented and innovative artists to discuss their artistic process, the inspiration behind their works, and the importance of their works.
“I can define endless without looking up” by Saskia Villaflor Curry
Artistic Process: “My work is a meditation on space as a referent of humanity. Where does our humanity lie? Within the self or the spaces we inhabit? I juxtapose disparate containers of existence as a way to probe the human condition. How can I build wholly lacking narratives for myself, the painter, and you, the spectator? I contend with this need to know ‘you’ in the loneliness of my solitary practice. I’m on the inside looking out and looking back inside again.”
Inspiration: “The title of my thesis, ‘I can define endless without looking up,’ is a reference to a poem my sister wrote. I think it beautifully encapsulates everything I’m interested in: seeing, understanding myself, and others. I cherish the minutiae as it stands in opposition to the drama of life. I think it’s perhaps the most dramatic thing I do!”
Message to Viewers: “I’m also a film major, but I’ve always been drawn to painting as a lens for viewing the world because you have complete authorship. It is the most intimate and solitary practice, where you can think about everything and nothing all at once. For me, painting becomes this meditative process that both reveals and conceals parts of myself. I can only hope that other people resonate with it as well!”
“Angle of Incidence” by Owen Forbes
Artistic Process: “The hardest part of the thesis for me was coming up with a ‘concept.’ Working as a photographer, but really working on any studio art thesis, there is a pressure to come up with a subject matter, or place, that will tie your work together. I have always felt a sense of trepidation when tasked with this, given that I don’t feel particularly entitled to try and ‘tell’ people something through my work. I have always felt most productive in making my work mean something through iteration and trial and error. I did start the year thinking about why I pursue photography in general, and…what makes a photograph meaningful to me. I started with loose ideas about aspiration and simultaneity, specifically, the idea of an aspirational self. To me, photography is fundamentally a process of delineating relationships between photographer and subject, but also the subject’s relationship to themself and the world. Oftentimes, these relationships are not straightforward, unexpected, the cause of anguish or confusion, or they can be immensely beautiful, relatable, and so on. I have tried then in my photographs to collapse the often contradictory feelings into single images, and really my only hope is that there is enough specificity in the work for people to engage with the emotional terrain I have tried to create. To this, I have tried to carefully consider the use of light, sense of place or placelessness, and atmosphere in the pictures.”
Inspiration: “The form of my thesis is photography. Photography is important to me because of how directly it maps onto the way myself and others experience the world. Its directness hopefully allows for a degree of poignance and relevance to the life of the viewer as well as my own. To take a photo for me is essentially to force a set of perhaps disparate things into a relationship within a frame and into a state of coexistence. This also asserts these things as important or worth photographing. It is then my hope that in my work there is a strong feeling of my own sensibilities and what is important to me.”
Message to Viewers: “There were some more theoretical references that started me on my way in doing this thesis, and some readings that are helpful to me in thinking about what my work is ‘doing’ (such as ‘God is Red’ by Vine Deloria Jr.). To me, though, it is sort of besides the point that an audience can make their way to these references, or to precisely the set of ideas I am thinking about. My only real goal is that there is enough in the pictures for a viewer to want to spend time with them and feel engaged with them on an emotional level.”
“Falsework” by Sebastian Frowein
Artistic Process: “This body of work explores the architectural concept of heavy-lightness, using concrete to challenge expectations of material and form. I set out to create pieces that not only push the physical boundaries of concrete but also complement the spatial character of the CFA. The vision of a sculpture garden, one that invites curiosity and fosters connection, was central to my approach. Each form is intentionally open-ended, encouraging personal interpretation and shared experience.”
Inspiration: “Concrete was chosen for its potential to defy expectations. Traditionally perceived as cold and heavy, I sought to transform the material into something more delicate and inviting. Through form and texture, these sculptures challenge conventional associations, inviting viewers to experience concrete in a new way. Drawn to [thinking about] how concrete captures the grain of its mold, I designed each piece to reveal its construction details upon closer inspection. This subtle textural layering invites viewers to engage more intimately with the work, discovering its making through proximity. ‘Falsework,’ [is] built entirely of concrete [and] confronts the material’s greatest weakness—its poor performance under tension. ‘Falsework’ refers to the temporary wooden support system of a permanent concrete structure during construction. Taking inspiration from the brutalist concept of heavy-lightness, the process of ‘Falsework’ enables my sculptures to take on more delicate and inviting properties than your typical concrete block. By creating sculptures that are dynamic, slight, and asymmetrically balanced, the project pushes the boundaries of how we interpret concrete.”
Message to Viewers: “These sculptures are meant to evoke personal interpretation, shaped by each viewer’s own experiences. A sense of curiosity, particularly about how the forms balance and support themselves, is integral to the work. Resting directly on the ground without external supports, each piece relies entirely on precision and equilibrium. Despite weighing between half a ton and a ton, the sculptures are intended to feel light and effortless. I want viewers to leave not only intrigued by the visual tension, but also wondering how such intricate geometries were flawlessly constructed and assembled.”
“Arc-eye-ve” by Calista Huang
Artistic Process: “My artistic practice focuses on the intricate relationship between sight and the act of viewing. In particular, I’ve always been fascinated by technique and process, especially in trying to decipher how other artists created their work. Through this curiosity, I was inspired to reproduce the eyes of famous portraits throughout history and wanted to challenge myself in recreating other techniques using my own process…. I chose to work on aluminum with oil paint because I was drawn to the reflective and sterile quality of the aluminum, which emphasizes how this is a visual archive/study of different painting techniques and how portraits evolved over time. I’ve always enjoyed working with oil paint because of its capabilities to appear illusionistic while maintaining its rich texture.”
Inspiration: “My thesis centers around the act of painting and is an exploration of different painting techniques, attempting to navigate various periods, styles, and painting traditions. I am fascinated by the function of representation and reproduction in painting, as I translate digital representations of two-dimensional works into a cropped replication of itself in paint. Through this process, these reproductions are given a new meaning, challenging the notion of originality in art-making. My work strives to imitate in a way that is both pleasing and compelling throughout the creation process and as a final product.”
Message to Viewers: “I hope that viewers have the desire to get closer to my paintings and spend time observing the details and different styles of brushwork. I don’t want a single piece to stand out more than the rest, instead, I want them all to be seen as equal and part of a whole collection. I also enjoy watching viewers try to guess the original paintings and artists!”
“Salto” by Sylvie Moran
Artistic Process: “I created animations using gouache paint with stop-motion techniques and through video collage. The gouache animation allows the viewer to see the process of making (every mark I make is captured in a frame), and the wateriness of gouache allows the paint to spread and flow on its own. The video collage allowed me to create much more subtle movement, and use the projectors as alternative sources of light. Having time-based work was incredibly important to this project because it guides the audience through the viewing experience.”
Inspiration: “I was originally inspired by aerial circus because of the unique sensation a performer feels when tumbling through the air. I wondered if there was a way to transpose this feeling into visual art, such that a viewer could begin to understand the performer’s disorientation. After many iterations, I began making animations that abstract depth, spin/rotate, and grow. The viewer is taken through forests, deserts, and gaseous atmosphere, all while watching the landscapes themselves change. I am someone who thinks better through their hands, and so my animating process affected how I thought about the work as I made it. Now that my thesis is complete, I am thinking most about how we perceive change as we move, using our movement as a function of time. What do we see differently as we’re falling versus running versus standing still?”
Message to Viewers: “While I had a specific concept in creating this work, I do not hope that a viewer takes away any message or meaning in particular. I have heard as many interpretations as there are viewers, all understandable and interesting (some think the work is about nonhuman growth, some think it’s about the materiality of fabric, some think it’s about air versus water, etc). Meaning-making is itself a creative process, and I have learned a lot from each retelling of my thesis.”
“Been There” by Billi Newmyer
Artistic Process: “I chose to teach myself a new craft and create these forms using stained glass. Through YouTube, making friends with local stained glass artists, trial, and a lot of error, I have begun to recreate these objects of utility in a whimsical, almost nonsensical manner, divorcing these formerly rugged and high utility things from their function into delicate and playful artifacts of preciousness…It’s a painstaking process of cutting, grinding, cleaning, foiling, and soldering that I hope comes across. Irregularities and imperfections stand out in my pieces, making them seem starkly human and no longer expandable. Illuminating these objects from within so they glow in the dark gallery space makes these once-overlooked objects the focal point—my objects become oddly reverent, almost devotional. The glow is intentional— insisting that these elements be seen, even when they’re usually invisible.”
Inspiration: “My work is rooted in a deep appreciation for the ubiquitous and overlooked aspects of the built environment. Studying architecture has reshaped how I view the objects and spaces that surround us every day—those often-underappreciated artifacts of telephone poles, door frames, or sidewalk curbs. These forms, once mundane, have become artifacts of design and labor, deserving of care and attention.”
Message to Viewers: “Ultimately, my work pays homage to childhood placemaking and the joy of reimagining the familiar. These glowing, surreal forms invite viewers into a world where the banal becomes cherished, and the ordinary transforms into an exquisite corpse of preciousness.”
Carter Appleyard can be reached at cappleyard@wesleyan.edu.
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