Photo by Ebony Gibbs
The opening reception for idiUm, an exhibition of vibrant colors with a combination of detailed figures, was displayed in the Foster-Tanner Fine Arts Gallery, April 22, 2016.
idiUm, a visual collection created by graduating senior, Eneicia Nina-Bentiz from Miami Fla., took a modern spin on contemporary artwork.
“IdiUm is the visual and literal representation of idioms that relate to herself and how she felt in past relationships,” Bentiz explained.
Vicasia Parker, first-year psychology student, from Orlando Fla., describes Bentiz collection as a breath of fresh air for the art scene.
“I didn’t know what to expect with this collection. When I first walked into the gallery my eyes immediately lit up from all the different colors emerging from the canvases. I would say that the bright orange and highlighter pink backgrounds, made her collection even more refreshing and relatable,” Parker said.
Bentiz continues by explaining why she chose specific color to represent certain aspects of each relationship. Her usage of a fluorescent color scheme with an addition of distorted female images adds to the collection as a whole.
“Unable to fully express how I felt in these so called relationships, in my paintings I use colors, facial expressions, and actions to replicate everything. The series progresses from bright to warm to cool and eventually dark colors to represent the journey and how I loved, learned, grew and progressed in life,” Bentiz said.
Dershay Lane, a second-year education student, from Washington D.C., feels as though the collection spoke to her directly, especially because all the visuals were females with ever changing distorted features.
“I appreciated the direction that she took, her collection told a cohesive story. The images that were depicted showed women with three breasts, folds covering both the eyes and lips, and mushrooms that grew and then wilted as she progressed through different relationships,” Lane said.
Her story developed from a girl that was trapped in a relationship where she couldn’t fathom her own reflection because she was too consumed with the toxicity of relationships, to a young lady that blossomed into loving herself.
Bentiz gave insight into what ultimately made her create this collection.
“The connections I built with significant others in the past plays a huge part in why I created this series. The connection between colors and emotions and the connection between two people are so strong that it can transpire into something truly beautiful or a dangerous distraction,” Bentiz concluded.
Bentiz collection idiUm will be on display until May 6, 2016 in the Foster Tanner Fine Arts Gallery.