Artist: Erika Barrios

Exhibition: MFA Advancement

Media: Sculpture

Gallery: CSULB School of Art, Max L Gatov Gallery East

Website: n/a

Instagram: @___e_n_b___

Erika Barrios is an graduate student at CSULB. The program she is studying is sculpture. She is in her 2nd year. Her undergraduate degree is in gender and women’s studies from UC Berkley. The themes she tries to achieve in her work is identity, gender, sexuality, embodiment and feminism. She hopes to have her work exhibited in LA. She is also thinking of being a preparator or cureator.

She has three pieces of work. They are called: Familia(r/l) embrace III, not in this dimension, viscera. Familia(r/l) embrace III is cotton shibari rope, latex paint on size 50 circular knitting needles and cochineal dye bath. Not in this dimension is linen cloth and thread, burned leather, yak down and wool yarn dyed with cochineal, onion skins and coffee grounds, brass nails, acrylic ink on buckles and d-rings, and stained reclaimed wood. Lastly, viscera has rayon/wool yarn, burned leather dyed with cochineal, copper wire, acrylic ink on buckles and d-rings, linen thread, and jute fabric.

When I saw her work, I thought the abstract work came from the idea of the female reproductive system. The shape reminded me of the uterus and fallopian tubes. When interviewing the artist, we were not that off. The idea actually came from a dildo harness. Concluding that her work stemmed from sex toys and acts, I asked if her black art work represented bondage and she said it did.

These pieces really made me think of the progress women have had regarding expressing their sexuality. In the old days, women were shamed about speaking about certain sexual acts. Seeing as how this artist is making art from sex acts and BDSM makes me feel that women have come a long way from showing their sexual expression.

familia(r/l) embrace III

viscera

not in this dimension

Artist: Christian Franzen

Exhibition: From Here: A Group Show

Media: Oil on Canvas, 56″ x 60″ and 17″ x 16″

Gallery: CSULB School of Art, Marilyn Werby Gallery

Website: bechance.net/christianfranvan

Instagram: n/a

Christian Franzen is an undergraduate student at CSULB. The program he is studying is drawing and painting. He is in his final semester He plans on going to grad school ideally in the east coast to specialize in art painting or visual arts.

His pieces of work are two abstract paintings. They are Oil on Canvas, 56″ x 60″ and 17″ x 16″. The bigger painting is named House. The color scheme is mainly dark. There are a lot of shades of blue and green. The colors that stand out are yellow and orange. The drawing has an essence of 3D work because there are many geometric shapes. The smaller painting has less colors. It is more calming. The title is called Bradford. It has a distinct yellow pattern.

The artist likes using the color blue. He did not have a reference or idea to initiate the painting. He likes using blue and green because he feels it allows depth. There is a lot of illumination with those colors. It reminds him of deep space and the ocean.

The purpose of this project was to represent abstract work. Abstract work us allows us to express ourselves without precisely having a purpose or a reference. I liked these paintings because of the color.

Artist: Christian Nunez

Exhibition: Mi Gente

Media: Oil on Canvas, 14″x16″ & 18″x20″

Gallery: CSULB School of Art, Marilyn Werby Gallery

Website: N/A

Instagram: @chrissnnunez

Christian Nunez is an undergraduate student at CSULB. The program he is studying is drawing and painting. He is in his final semester and will be moving to Japan after graduation as an English Teacher. He has been studying Japanese for 4 years. He will continue painting and drawing.

His pieces of work are two paintings of an elderly man and woman. They are Oil on Canvas, 14″x16″ and 18″x20″. The portrait of the woman is her facing straight with a suave smile.  Her hair is pulled back, with a blue top, and a black scarf. The background is yellow which can represent life. She appears to be very old, about 80. The portrait of the man is more serious. However, the background is not only yellow but includes a traditional Mexican fabric in the back. The wall also has a pattern. The man is wearing a sombrero with a white top.

The purpose of this project was to show culture. The paintings are of Christian Nunez’s grandparents. He chose them to show his culture because that is how a typical elderly Mexican is portrayed. His family is from Jalisco, Mexico. He chose his grandparents because he has not seen them in a long time and wanted a form to bond with them. He likes painting elderly people because there is more depth and detail, as in all the wrinkles and fine lines. The grandma’s art piece took more work because he did a grid and drew with pencil first before painting. The grandpa’s painting was straight to paint.

This exhibit spoke to me because I am Mexican. I had also seen his artwork the previous week in the gallery called Afterlife. His paintings were relatable in the sense that we celebrate Dia de Los Muertos and we listen to Mariachi. One of his paintings from last week featured a man laying on the bed, perhaps overdosed, and the bottle was Jack Daniels. I asked him why he chose whisky and not a typical Mexican drink like Tequila. He said he thought that whisky was the adapted drink to second generation families.

Artist: Suzanne Mitchell

Exhibition: Female Introspective

Media: Archival Inkjet Print, 24” x 32” and 20” x 30”

Gallery: CSULB School of Art, Max L. Gatov East Gallery

Website: FB – ImageBySuzanne

Instagram: @imagebysuzanne

Suzanne Mitchell is an undergraduate student at CSULB. The program she is studying is photography. She likes doing fashion photography. It is a field where women can show their confidence. She likes taking pictures of people of color because it diversifies the fashion industry.

Her pieces of work are two pictures of women of color. They are Archival Inject Prints, 24” x 32” and 20” x 30”. One portrait features an Asian American woman arching her back with her arm up above. The background color is blue. She is facing away the camera and you can see her long shiny black hair. The other portrait features an African American woman fiercely facing the camera with a pink background. Both images show confident women feeling comfortable and sexy. Mitchell allowed the models to come dressed in whatever they wanted. The background color scheme was shown in a way that was white centered and more colorful at the edges.

The purpose of this project was “Embracing and empowering the feminine expression” (Artists Pamphlet). Her models portrayed confidence, beauty and grace. Mitchell took the pictures in such a way that let the models pose as they wished. She wanted to ensure a comfortable environment so it was just her and the model. As mentioned earlier, the models were able to choose their own outfit. Mitchell captured their essence and strong inner force.

This exhibit spoke to me because after this summer I have begun to get more in touch with my feminine side. Back then I was more casual, comfort over fashion gal, but after losing weight, changing my wardrobe and attitude I have been able to be more confident. This art show showed women being proud of who they are and showed them glowing! It made me really proud.