Category: News
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New Intern: Tyler Ramsey
Meet Tyler Ramsey, one of our amazing new interns on staff at the Van Every/Smith Art Galleries! Tyler Ramsey is a Sophomore at Davidson College from Manilla, Philippines. Tyler is currently studying Computer Science. Learn more about Tyler: Why did you want to intern at the art gallery? “I like art.” Who is your favorite…
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Seen on Campus: Iruka Maria Toro
Iruka Maria Toro (Puerto Rican, b. 1983)The World and Her Double, 2016Acrylic and collage on paper40 x 53 in.Gallery Purchase Iruka Maria Toro is a Puerto Rican artist whose paintings serve as a record of her life. Toro uses patterned flora, fauna, pools of water, and liquefying landscapes in an imperfectly symmetrical arrangement to best…
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Returning Intern: Sarah Zhang
Meet Sarah Zhang, one of our amazing returning interns on staff at the Van Every/Smith Galleries! Sarah Zhang is a Junior at Davidson College from Shanghai, China. Claire is currently studying Art History and Psychology, and has worked in the gallery for the past 3 years. Learn more about Sarah: What has even your favorite…
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A Look Inside the Studio: Art Major Laura Bullock
This past week Claire Begalla, an intern at the Van Every/Smith Art Galleries had the chance to take a tour of Laura Bollock’s (’23) studio in the Visual Arts Center. Watch this video to learn more about Laura, her art, and see into her artistic space! Laura will have her own show in the Smith…
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Seen In My Room: Anonymous Portrait with Shirt
The piece that I chose in ArtMate was Anonymous Portrait with Shirt by Anthony Goicolea. In many ways, this piece was the best of what was left, and it was not my first choice but it was a top 5 piece of the collection (in my opinion at least) so in many ways it was a steal…
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Returning Intern: Toshaani Goel
Meet Toshaani, one of our amazing returning interns on staff at the Van Every/Smith Galleries! Toshaani Goel is a Junior at Davidson College from Chandigarh, India. Toshaani is currently studying Global Literary Theory, and has worked in the gallery for the past year. Learn more about Toshaani: What has even your favorite exhibition during your…
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New Intern: Rory Mullis
Meet Rory Mullis, one of our amazing new interns on staff at the Van Every/Smith Galleries! Rory Mullis is a Freshman at Davidson College from Mooresville, NC. Rory is currently studying Psychology and Biology. Learn more about Rory: Why did you want to intern at the art gallery? “I like art and wanted to be…
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Seen in my room: Andy Warhol’s Crosses
Andy Warhol (American, 1928-1987)Crosses, 1982Polaroid4.25 x 3.375 in.The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.(c) The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. Going into ArtMate this year, I was incredibly excited- and mainly because I knew the galleries had several Andy Warhol polaroids in their collection. The idea that I, a student,…
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New Intern: Gaby Sanclimenti
Meet Gaby Sanclimenti, one of our amazing new interns on staff at the Van Every/Smith Galleries! Gaby Sanclimenti is a Sophomore at Davidson College from Doylestown, PA. Gaby is currently studying Psychology. Learn more about Gaby: Why did you want to intern at the art gallery? “I’ve always enjoyed spending time in creative, self-expressive places.…
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Unshadowed Land Project: Catawba Corn Lunch
Living in the present age of capitalist and industrial markets, we seem to be drifting away from the land. It is so easy now to just swipe a card at the grocery and receive processed food. So we often take for granted how food is grown and instead think of it as merely products for…
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Seen in My Room: Utagawa Kunisada’s Untitled
歌川 (Utagawa) 国貞 (Kunisada) (Japanese, 1786-1865)Untitled, ca. 1950Woodblock on paper20.5 x16.5 in.Gift of John A. Welsh III, Class of 1959 This Untitled piece of art by 歌川 (Utagawa) 国貞 (Kunisada) hangs above my bed and is the first thing you see upon entering the room. This woodblock piece from the 1800’s was a gift to…
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Returning Intern: Oliver Poduschnick
Meet Oliver Poduschnick one of our amazing returning interns on staff at the Van Every/Smith Galleries! Oliver Poduschnick is a Sophomore at Davidson College from Middlebury, VT. Oliver is currently studying Economics and Political Science, and has worked in the gallery for the past year. Learn more about Oliver: Did you do anything art related…
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Art 348 Exhibition | Learning , Unlearning, Relearning: Mediating on America’s Past and Present
The white walls surrounding any gallery or museum space alway seem so innocent: they create an isolated and quiet space, detached from our living reality, that allows an immersive experience of the artworks on display without the intrusion of external influences. But museums and galleries are in fact institutions; they are bound up with various…
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Seen in Storage: Eddy Mumma
Eddy Mumma (American, 1908-1986)Untitled, ca. 1969-1986Acrylic on Canvas18 x 14 in.Gift of John A. Welsh III, Class of 1959. The bright colors and playfulness of Untitled may lead one to believe they are viewing the masterpiece of an aspiring 9 year old artist. Therefore, one might be shocked to find it’s not only made by…
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New Intern: Kaiyan Wang
Meet Kaiyan Wang, one of our amazing new interns on staff at the Van Every/Smith Galleries! Kaiyan Wang is a Junior at Davidson College from Jinhua, China. Kaiyan is currently studying Art History. Learn more about Kaiyan: What has even your favorite exhibition during your time at Davidson? “Auguste Rodin: Truth Forum Life” You can…
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Seen in my room: Todd Webb’s Grand Street Station
Todd Webb (American, 1905-2000)Grand Street Station, 1946Gelatin silver print20 x 16 in. Gift of Vincent Mastrata Todd Webb’s Grand Street Station captures a glimpse of a seemingly quiet New York City – a lack of people, a still train, a hazy sky frozen in motion. The photograph itself, taken in 1946 and one of Webb’s…
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Returning Intern: Claire Begalla
Meet Claire Begalla, one of our amazing returning interns on staff at the Van Every/Smith Galleries! Claire Begalla is a Junior at Davidson College from Deland, Florida. Claire is currently studying Digital and Screen Media, and has worked in the gallery for the past 3 years. Learn more about Claire: What has even your favorite…
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New Semester, New ArtMate!
Salvador Dali, Andy Warhol, Joan Miro…… can you imagine waking up to their artwork every morning? In February of 2022, the Van Every/Smith Galleries first launched ArtMate, a program that brings high-end artworks to students’ bedrooms. Widely acclaimed by students, ArtMate returned this semester with even more works, more eligible residence halls, and more participants.…
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Catawba Corn Update – August 2022
A few weeks ago, Virginia Heiser and I harvested the remainder of the corn from the Unshadowed Land sculpture. Then, student Oliver Podushnick and staff members Halle Murphy, Lia Newman, Marisa Pascucci, David Sackett shucked and braided it for drying. A fair amount of corn of all shapes and sizes was harvested, similar to what…
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Returning Intern: Sarah Willoughby
Meet Sarah Willoughby, one of our amazing returning interns on staff at the Van Every/Smith Galleries! Sarah Willoughby is a Sophomore at Davidson College from Greensboro, NC. Sarah is currently studying Art History, and has worked in the gallery for the past year. Learn more about Sarah: What has even your favorite exhibition during your…
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Commemorative Project Update – Zoom Community Engagement Sessions
The unacknowledged contributions of enslaved Black people are everywhere on Davidson’s campus. A special committee tasked with creating a public commemoration to those whose labor was stolen will help to fulfill the promises the college has made to itself and to the world. In the fall of 2021, Davidson College released a Call For Qualifications…
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Planting Possibility
Click the image below to read about Unshadowed Land, our collaboration with artist Nicholas Galanin, the Catawba Nation and several campus partners.
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Sara Zewde/Studio Zewde Selected as a Finalist for Davidson College’s Commemorative Site
In the fall of 2021, Davidson College released a Call For Qualifications for the creation of a commemorative work of art to honor the contributions of enslaved people and others whose labor was exploited. The call was open to professional artists, architects, landscape architects, and design teams with experience managing, designing, and completing public art…
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Bethany Collins & Torkwase Dyson selected as Finalists for Davidson College’s Commemorative Site
In the fall of 2021, Davidson College released a Call For Qualifications for the creation of a commemorative work of art to honor the contributions of enslaved people and others whose labor was exploited. The call was open to professional artists, architects, landscape architects, and design teams with experience managing, designing, and completing public art…
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Hank Willis Thomas and Perkins&Will selected as Finalists for Davidson College’s Commemorative Site
In the fall of 2021, Davidson College released a Call For Qualifications for the creation of a commemorative work of art to honor the contributions of enslaved people and others whose labor was exploited. The call was open to professional artists, architects, landscape architects, and design teams with experience managing, designing, and completing public art…
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Walter Hood/Hood Design Selected as Finalist for Davidson College’s Commemorative Site
In the fall of 2021, Davidson College released a Call For Qualifications for the creation of a commemorative work of art to honor the contributions of enslaved people and others whose labor was exploited. The call was open to professional artists, architects, landscape architects, and design teams with experience managing, designing, and completing public art…
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Finalists Selected for Commemorative Site for Enslaved and Exploited Laborers
Davidson College is a liberal arts institution dedicated to cultivating humane instincts and disciplined, creative minds. Our community touchstone is the Reformed Tradition of the Presbyterian Church, a tradition rooted in the belief that all lives are valuable, equal, and deserving of dignity. Founded in the American South in 1837, less than thirty years before…
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Alumni Highlight – Marin Florence Williams ’16
This week alum Marin Florence Williams ’16 shared with us her exploration in the arts industry and how her years in Davidson have prepared her for this journey. Marin is finishing her last semester towards a dual master’s in Art History and Art Administration at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with a…
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Catawba Corn Update
In addition to water, fertile soil, and a pH level of about 6.5, corn loves sunlight. But perfecting the combination of these resources fundamental to the development of corn can be quite tricky. Great variation in growing conditions can exist within meters of each other, let alone from the Farm to the Katherine and Tom…
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New Acquisition: Alice Neel’s “The Youth”
Alice Neel (American, 1900-1984)The Youth, 1982Lithograph in colors on Arches paper38 x 25 inGift of John Andrew MacMahon ’95 In this portrait, a young man sits directly in the middle of the painting. Sitting on an unpainted seat, the figure leans forward with his arms crossed over his legs and looks straight at the viewer.…
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Radcliffe Bailey Selected as a Finalist For Davidson College’s Commemorative Site
In the fall of 2021, Davidson College released a Call For Qualifications for the creation of a commemorative work of art to honor the contributions of enslaved people and others whose labor was exploited. The call was open to professional artists, architects, landscape architects, and design teams with experience managing, designing, and completing public art…
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Caring for Catawba Corn as part of “Unshadowed Land”
From my limited experience with painting, I have often used water for cleaning my brushes and occasionally thinned my paint. However, when it comes to Nicholas Galanin’s work, Unshadowed Land, those two common art terms have vastly different meanings. Rather than experimenting with new aesthetics or creating contrasting layers within a work, the thinning recently…
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Seen in Storage: Eugène Delacroix
Eugène Delacroix (French, 1798-1863)Juive d’Alger (Jewish Woman of Algiers), 1830 Etching on paperGallery Purchase 1830’s, North Africa. Eugène Delacroix and his friend, Count de Mornay, are on a good-will, diplomatic mission to the Sultan of Morocco. Delacroix’s drawings fill countless pages of his sketchbooks, depicting his observations of Arab life. An encounter greatly influences Delacroix’s…
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Seen In Storage: Raymond Pettibon
Raymond Pettibon (American, b. 1957)Untitled (However Vast), 2007Color lithograph on wove paper33.375 x 25.125 in.Gift of John Andrew MacMahon, Class of 1995 However vast the “outer space” may be, yet with all its sidereal distances it hardlybears comparison with the dimensions, with the depth dimensions of our inner being, which doesnot even need the spaciousness of…
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Seen on Campus: A Shatter of Camellia Blooms Arranged Themselves over Tom’s Face
Raymond Grubb (American, b. 1952)A Shatter of Camellia Blooms Arranged Themselves over Tom’s Face, 202023 x 17 inArchival ink jet printGallery Purchase A man sits — or perhaps lounges — on the ground, leaning against a rusted bench. Vibrant pink Camellia flowers lay across the man’s face. Vines and branches growing with green leaves curl up around…
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New Acquisition: 1, from Distorted Square Within a Circle
Robert Mangold (American, b. 1973)1, from Distorted Square Within a Circle , 1973Screenprint in colors on Arches paper27.75 x 27.75 inGift of John Andrew MacMahon ’95 Don’t tell Robert Mangold that square pegs don’t fit in a round hole. All jokes aside, Mangold’s 1, from Distorted Square Within a Circle exemplifies the contrast and tension built upon…
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Artist: Mickalene Thomas
Mickalene Thomas is a New York-based artist who boldly uses enamel, acrylic, and rhinestones in her larger-than-life pieces. Often known for her portraits, Thomas’ work points to identity, gender, and beauty standards. Even more specifically, how women are represented and presented in pop culture. The two portraits gifted to the college are of the most…
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Panel Discussion — “The Growth of ‘Unshadowed Land’: Welcoming Kus Back to Campus”
On April 19th, the VAC hosted a panel discussion titled “The Growth of ‘Unshadowed Land’: Welcoming Kus Back to Campus” on our continuing project with Indigenous artist Nicholas Galanin, “Unshadowed Land,” and our collaboration with Catawba Nation, the native people indigenous to this area. The event was sponsored by the Davidson College Farm; the Environmental…
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Seen In Storage: Anne Noggle
Anne Noggle (American, 1922-2005)Myself as a Pilot, 1982Silver gelatin print14 x 16.75 inGift of the Anne Noggle Foundation Photographer Anne Noggle titled her self-portrait series The Saga of Fallen Flesh. To her, a face became photographable when its individual story was wholly legible in the language of skin folds and wrinkles. She said, “I find…
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2022 Annual Student Art Exhibition: A Mosaic of Student Life
This year will be the first time the Van Every/Smith Galleries of Davidson’s Visual Arts Center will have a fully in-person reception for our Annual Student Art Exhibition since 2019, pre-pandemic. To commemorate, the gallery decided to print posters for the event with the printing press in Dr. Andrew Rippeon’s letterpress lab. Gallery interns Sarah…
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Alex Nikolaidis Konstas ’22 | Lethe
The goal of my art is to depict that, while memory can be ephemeral, one’s core identities can remain stable. Being a Studio Art and Psychology double major, my drawings are heavily grounded on theories that relate to the frailty of memory, such as the modification of memories upon recall and the subjective experience of…
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Avery Fleeman ’22 | Reactions to Reactions
My art is a manifestation of my subconscious thought—a representation of the constant conflict between my two selves: the self that so desperately craves structure and order, and the self that is completely incapable of any kind of organization; the self that longs for certainty, and the self that charges blindly into the unknown. On…
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Sophia Beall ’22 | Body In Time
At the intersection of body and machine lies the question of autonomy; who ultimately is in control? My artwork aims to explore the nature of this intimate relationship and the extent to which technology has already taken over our society. Through life-sized moving sculptures with human figure references, I explore the mechanized nature of aging,…
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Alumni Highlight: Daphne Butler Birdsey ’06
This week, gallery intern Sarah Willoughby ’25 had the opportunity to interview Davidson College alum Daphne Butler Birdsey ’06. Daphne received a B.A. in political science at Davidson College in 2006. After college, Daphne pursued a career in fundraising, including over 13 years at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, during which she received an M.A.…
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New Intern: Molly Smith
Meet Molly Smith, one of our new interns on staff at the Van Every/Smith Galleries! Molly Smith is a Sophomore at Davidson College from Nashville, Tennessee. She is a Classical Languages & Literature major. Molly wanted to work in the gallery because of her work at home. In Nashville, Molly teaches kids art. Having a…
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Richard Farrell ’22 | Apocrypha
Mythologies originate in the mundane and are granted narrative power through repetition, re-imagination, and devotion. While being untrue, they can be deeply powerful tools for communication. We value and propagate the stories which reinforce our beliefs and biases and form a boundary to separate acceptable narratives from more bizarre subjects. In my artwork, I attempt…
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New Intern: Brown Payne
Meet Brown Payne, one of the new interns on staff at the Van Every/Smith Galleries! Brown Payne is a Sophomore Art History Major at Davidson College from Nashville, Tennessee. Brown wanted to intern at the galleries because of his major and because he wanted to learn more about curation and taking care of the art…
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Seen on Campus: Homage to Rodin
William Tucker (British, b. 1935)Homage to Rodin, 1999BronzeGift of the Class of 1993 At first glance, Homage to Rodin seems to be just a lumpy bronze boulder sitting on a pedestal with signs of oxidation from years of enduring the elements. This is an accurate and fitting description for what was an intentional decision by…
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Amending The Soil: Compost for Art
Unshadowed Land by Nicholas Galanin is an outdoor sculpture exhibition on the Belk Visual Arts Center’s lawn that was created during the 2021 fall semester by students, staff, and community members. The sculpture is a site of exposed soil in the shape of the shadow of the monument of Andrew Jackson that is currently standing in…
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Liz Truluck ’22 | All in One Basket
While working on a small farm in Ferrum, Virginia last summer, I consumed solely organic products and foods, and immersed myself in the land through regenerative agriculture and sustainable land practices. This fundamentally altered the way I interpreted my artistic practice and ignited a switch in my material choices from paint and digital collages to…