Walnut Hill School for the Arts at former Rugged Bear

With the support of retail developer EDENS, there's an exciting new art exhibit in Wellesley Square.

Richard Schwartz, Visual Arts Faculty, curated the student exhibit.

SCULPTURE

 

Students in sculpture have been using wood as the primary material for creating artwork this semester at Walnut Hill. This recent assignment asked students to create a “bird” using only broken fir/spruce strips, which were glued into place. A simple paper and tape structure was used as the “core” for support on these sculptures. This technique (without precise measuring) forced students to work in a more intuitive manner, making many decisions about their work and forms. The surface variety and scale differences of these pieces are really impressive. Additionally, some students used a thinned tempera paint wash to add color, while still retaining the natural quality of the wood.  It is great to see some of the work displayed in Wellesley and share with the larger community! 

Richard Schwartz, Visual Art Department, Walnut Hill School for the Arts 

 

ACTION PAINTING or GESTURAL ABSTRACTION

These student paintings are the result of an assignment based on the Action Painting or Gestural Abstraction, and Abstract Expressionist movements in American painting of the 1940's through the 1960's. It is a style of painting that is spontaneously dribbled, splashed, or smeared onto the canvas, rather than being carefully applied. The resulting work often emphasizes the physical act of painting itself as an essential aspect of the finished work or concern of the artist. Some of the more well known artists that expressed themselves through these methods were Jackson Pollock, Franz Kline, and Willem de Kooning.

The art critic Harold Rosenberg described the importance of this painting style as "the physical manifestation, a kind of residue, of the actual work of art, which was the act or process of the paintings’ creation". Personally, I like Clement Greenberg's description: "It is the paintings’ clotted and oil caked surfaces that are the key to understanding them as documents of the artist's existential struggle".

Whichever you prefer, I think these student explorations of this school of painting are vibrant, energetic, and just fascinating to view. Thanks for looking!

Ken Tighe,Visual Art Department,Walnut Hill School for the Arts 

 

Located in Natick, MA, Walnut Hill School for the Arts offers a powerful combination of academic rigor and artistic excellence. The School allows talented high school students to advance their training in ballet, music, theater, visual art, or creative writing, while engaging in challenging college-preparatory curriculum. This integrated approach creates a high-performing culture that prepares students for success as they matriculate to some of the world's best colleges and conservatories. Walnut Hill is proud to collaborate with the Wellesley Community Art Project to share their Visual Artists' work with the greater community.

For more information on the School and upcoming events visit www.walnuthillarts.org

Save the date for Walnut Hill's Spring Visual Art Show on May 29, 5pm