Florida A&M University’s Foster-Tanner Fine Arts Gallery Annual Art Exhibition presents “VISIONS: Graduating Senior Art Exhibition.
The exhibition featured artwork from two FAMU graduating art majors, Alphonso Johnson and Jasmine Nieves. “SAE: FEAR” features student artwork expressing many interpretations of the word “Fear.”
Johnson’s art pieces depict sport figures and recalls of them in his own life as an athlete.
Nieves’ exhibition features a silkscreen series paying homage to important women as well as a series of autobiographical painting of her experience as a ceramicist.
Javier Malpica-Lopez, a junior graphic design student with a minor in Fine Arts Design from Dorado, Puerto Rico, said, “It’s interesting how Jasmine portrayed all these powerful women in a different way not just with a picture, but with screen printing, which is a nice technique.”
“It shows me all the possibilities that I can do. It makes me want to explore all of my options here and grow more as an artist,” Malpica-Lopez said.
The Foster-Tanner Fine Arts Gallery offers art exhibitions to educate students to look through a different perspective.
Ana Sanz, a senior fine arts student from Miami, Fla., wants to evoke the spectrum of humanity around her through her art to make sure that anyone can relate to the atmosphere of her work and not just the subject.
“I feel as if my art, even though the subject may often sometimes be a literal portrait or representation of a person, it is more symbolic,” Sanz said.
She said that the emotion of fear tends to be something that can leave people disillusioned to the point that it can break or make someone.
“SAE: FEAR” exhibit features relatable and versatile creations. The artists developed work that generates feelings to a spectator.
Nieves’ said her inspiration behind her work is empowerment to all women.
“I wanted to do fearless women whether it’s women that I know personally or the famous women that stand right beside them. I wanted to put all of the queens together and have a mixed variety of them,” Nieves said.
Most of the images Nieves’ used have hands in them to signify women’s strength.
“Women do so much with their hands and everything; they put so much passion in everything,” Nieves said.
The gallery aims to create a space for cultural exchange for the community.
Ashli Hickman, a senior elementary education student from Draken, Mass., said her favorite part of the show was Nieves’ artwork.
“It was really inspiring, there’s great colors, and I love all of the quotes,” Hickman said. “My favorite piece is the Frida Kalho.”
The Foster-Tanner Arts Gallery has served FAMU and the Tallahassee community for more than 40 years with top quality art exhibitions and art programming. The gallery serves as a source for art majors to study a variety of art forms as well as to exhibit their own art.
“SAE: FEAR” is free and open to the public Mondays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. until Dec. 5.