Exhibit features current, former students

By Perla Gonzalez/reporter

Forsaken, Ryan Harvey  Photo by Claire Weeden/The Collegian
Forsaken, Ryan Harvey Photo by Claire Weeden/The Collegian
The Space Between, Heather Braman  Photo by Claire Weeden/The Collegian
The Space Between, Heather Braman Photo by Claire Weeden/The Collegian

This and That: Food for Thought, an art exhibit of 11 current and former NW Campus students, is currently on display in the Atrium Gallery at the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth.

The invitational exhibit is on display through Nov. 30.

NW student Sophia Ceballos has three paintings displayed depicting people from Spain, France and India. She studied abroad while in high school and said that experience is a huge part of her inspiration.

“I think of myself as a student, very eager to learn more,” she said.

Michelle Brandley, master’s candidate at Texas Christian University, said her current artistic interests are in flesh and body image as well as food and meat fat.

The two paintings she has on display depict raw meat and were influenced by a tour of Burgundy Pasture Beef in Grandview, Texas, which produces all-natural, no-hormones-or-antibiotics, grass-fed meat.

“They very kindly opened their doors to me and allowed me to take pictures for my painting,” she said.

Celia Cortez, who transferred last spring to the University of Texas at Arlington, has a large portrait with luggage and a duck tangled within a net on display.

Plowed Field with Black Birds, Patsy Stark  Photos by Claire Weeden/The Collegian
Plowed Field with Black Birds, Patsy Stark Photos by Claire Weeden/The Collegian
Watchman, Sophia Ceballos  Photo by Claire Weeden/The Collegian
Watchman, Sophia Ceballos Photo by Claire Weeden/The Collegian

“The duck brings back nostalgic, childhood and adult human situations and represents us when caught up in traffic,” she said.

Cortez said her art is inspired by alternative musicians such as Nirvana and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Heather Braman, another recent transfer to UTA and a former wildlife and fisheries major at Texas A&M, said she was inspired to take a general design course at TCC. From that point, she said, her passion for painting has grown exponentially.

Her two exhibited paintings depict Fisher-Price toys. In one, they are submerged in water with one smiling female doll facing up.

Braman said that represents her fear of water and the aftermath of a big event but also shows she is still OK after a bad college experience.

Braman’s second piece in the exhibit portrays a young woman tied up with duct tape, which she said symbolizes the constant struggle of women trying to surpass religion and what she called the “pretty girl effect.”

“I feel like this all the time,” she said.

NW student Jebb Watson said she enjoys painting buildings although she said the painting has no real meaning. She simply likes the colors and the view of the turning corner, she said.

Student Ryan Harvey said he enjoys painting dark scenes and manufacturing and is currently working on paintings related to money.

“I am not afraid to modify my work,” he said. “I don’t mind adding more paint to my work.”

Harvey has three pieces in this exhibit.

Barbara Arabian said one of her two paintings is a representation of string theory.

“Some people think it is the brief collision of two membranes that form proto-atoms,” she said.

The University of Texas at Austin graduate is currently working on a new project focused on the secrets of the universe, including a Tibetan prayer flag and a fertility goddess.

The exhibit was curated by NW art faculty Winter Rusiloski, Christian deLeon and John Hartley.

Rusiloski said she supports the diversity of subject matter and style that the students bring to the table.

“They reflect the range of high-quality painting that goes on at this institution,” she said.

Gallery hours are 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday or by appointment at 817-735-0301.