On Display

By Abigail Sullivan '25, March 18, 2024
Art exhibition in Provost’s office showcases student talent.
Student with art

Leanna Yatcilla '24 standing next to her work, titled “Figure Drawing Class.”

(Photo by Abigail Hovey '27)

Leanna Yatcilla '24 standing next to her work, titled “Figure Drawing Class.”

(Photo by Abigail Hovey '27)

If you’re looking for a place to view exceptional artwork on the Ithaca College campus, you’re not limited to the Handwerker Gallery. Anyone who stops by the Office of the Provost on the third floor of the Peggy Ryan Williams Center will be treated to some of the best student artwork Ithaca College has to offer.

Thirty-three pieces, selected from nearly 100 submissions, were unveiled earlier this semester at a reception where the artists were recognized and celebrated for their work and given the chance to discuss their art with the college community.

Exploratory student Mette Aarsheim ’26 has two pieces currently on display, entitled “Dreamscape” and “Dandelion, I Love You.”

While painting “Dreamscape,” which has a surreal terrain, Mette said she was inspired by the “distorted perception of reality that accompanies dreams.”

Mette was similarly inspired by landscapes when creating her other piece, describing it as “intimate relationship with the organic.” She said she wants to encourage viewers of the work to “relearn the benefits of biodiversity.”

Student with painting

Mette Aarsheim ’26 with her painting "Dreamscape." (Photo by Abigail Hovey '26)

Art major Leanna Yatcilla ’24 has three pieces on display. While creating art in her figure drawing class, she became inspired by the overlap between the visual arts and theater, two of her passions.

She describes the process of creating her two displayed figure drawings: “The technique of it was required for figure drawing class, but the ink outline stems from my experience with costume design,” she said. “When doing sketches of people and outfits, I needed to be simultaneously very expressive and extremely detailed with my lines. The best way to do this was with a dip pen, which can create beautiful line quality but is an uncontrollable, wild beast. It can go anywhere, that’s the fun and the terror of it.”

One of her pieces, “Spring Shower,” was created during an art residency in her home state of Pennsylvania. “I felt the warmth of the countryside.. It was so beautiful that I felt I needed to create a piece that immortalized that moment.”

Assistant professor of art, architecture, and art history Bill Hastings served as the chair of the Student Exhibition Committee and led the effort to recognize these talented young artists, who said it was an honor to be selected. “I enjoy that this opportunity is shared amongst the entire art department,” said Yatcilla. “This opportunity is a good one for expanding art outreach on campus.”