Preview
Student Exhibition Year
2026
Description
Oil painting on canvas depicting a woman crossing a city street. Presented as part of the 2026 Annual Student Exhibit in the Berman Museum of Art at Ursinus College.
Artist Statement
This body of work reflects my emotional response to a political climate that feels unstable and overwhelming. In a world that moves so quickly, it becomes easy to ignore what is happening around me. But when I take the time to slow down and educate myself, I am confronted with the weight and complexity of these violent realities. I find myself asking: how do I process emotions tied to problems that feel too large to solve? Painting has become my way of working through that question. After reading news articles or watching current events unfold on social media, I often feel a mix of sadness, anger and confusion. These emotions take shape as imagined, often bizarre scenes or visualizations of everything I am feeling at once.
This body of work grew out of initial sketches, which were quick, playful doodles in my notebooks. As I developed them into paintings, I struggled with whether to make the imagery direct and confrontational or more subtle and ambiguous. I ultimately chose a balance, reflecting the way these issues exist in my own life: ever-present, yet competing with the everyday.
While these thoughts remain present in the background, I try not to let them consume me. This tension is reflected in my work through the contrast between subject matter and style. My paintings are light, colorful, and playful, but they come from a place of awareness and distraction, seriousness, and absurdity, mirroring my experience of living in this moment.
Rights Statement
Copyright of the underlying work is held by the artist. The digital image presented here is for educational purposes only and is not for commercial use.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Keywords
student art exhibit, 2026, oil painting, oil on canvas, woman, city street
