Cypress College’s Art Gallery had their opening night on Thursday, May 7th featuring artwork from students.
The opening invited students, family, friends, and anyone who was interested in the artwork produced by students. There was a very large crowd of those eager to see the different art pieces and the gallery was packed with people inside and outside. The staff worked hard for a couple of weeks to put the show together in order to showcase the work that they have worked on all semester. Some of the work was pieces done in the classes that they were taking and others were personal pieces that they worked on in their own time. Their were many different types of art showcased to show the different interests that individuals had such as media arts design, life drawing, ceramics, life painting, advertising design, and many more.
A part of the gallery that stood out was the main wall right in the center of the gallery that showcased the pieces that won scholarships and awards. Andrew Barriga, 21, was one of those featured artists who’s pieces received special recognition. Barriga’s piece , a portrait of an individual, won the Michael Jacobs Scholarship which granted him $250. This particular piece took him 30 hours to finish. “I think it’s motivational, pushing me forward.” Barriga is an art major and plans to go to art school in the future.
Nicole Luga, 20, art major also had artwork featured in the gallery. Luga’s piece featured work using colored pencils to “create depth within a shallow place.” “I’m really proud to have it on the show and to be able to show people what kind of art I do,” said Luga.
Like for Andrew Barriga and Nicole Luga this event was made to give student recognition and for them to show others what they have passion in and all the hard work they put in over the semester. The gallery opening also offered food and refreshments for guests giving them a chance to socialize with each other and to speak to the artists themselves.
“I forgot how much I really used to enjoy art until seeing all these pieces,” said Jennifer Yoo, 21, Anthropology major and former art student at Orange County School of the Arts. “I think it’s really cool that Cypress has something like this for art students so that people can see what they really do.”