Focus: A Senior Expo

In a dimly lit, but aesthetically curated gallery, Alexandra Pospelova, a senior Art major, explained her vision of art. “To me, this is what art should be. It should be knowledge, skills, and beauty,” she said. Her exhibition, Focus, is created in this vision, inspired by classical sculptures from the old Renaissance masters.

Her artworks consist of paintings, pencil drawings, and she has even incorporated sewing into some of her works. “I did a lot of macramé when I was a kid,” she said. Macramé is a French form of textile work, consisting of knots and sewing; Pospelova incorporates this technique into her canvases. “I wanted to show things that people don’t usually see or think about,” she said. All of her work in the exhibition is illustrations of the human body.

Pospelova was inspired by her father’s love of photography, and one day, he asked her why she didn’t combine it with her own interests. She has incorporated her Russian background with her new American impulses after studying here, and also took a semester abroad in Florence, where she picked up influences from the classical works, such as the likes of Michelangelo. In her show, which is displayed in the S.A.L Gallery, she brought all the different cultures and influences together.

She uses photography in a research phase of the expo, taking or finding photos in black and white, and then studying where the light hits them, and how the shadows cast on the body and form. The shadows are what her work is made of, and her works combine both her traditional Russian background and American contemporary art. “I’ve struggled with contemporary art,” she said. “It doesn’t always fit my view of art. There’s no good or bad; it’s just all good. I need some rules.” But her artwork is unmistakably modern, both in media and imagery.

After graduation, Pospelova aims to stay in the U.S., for both artistic and social reasons, as she develops her artistic identity. Pospelova said the work in the exhibit isn’t her final form as an artist, but a means to discover her true identity. The exhibition ran in the S.A.L Gallery from March 30 to April 5.