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Five Lafayette students are being showcased in the Hot Young Artists of the Valley exhibit through Dec. 15 at NorthamptonCommunity College’s FowlerFamilySouthsideCenter, 511 E. Third Street, Bethlehem. Gallery hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Thursday.
Alastair Noble, assistant professor of art, chose five students from his art classes to participate in the exhibit. Art major Peter Huntley ’08 (Westport, Conn.), art and anthropology & sociology double major Louis Wulwick ’08 (River Edge, N.J.), biology major Jeffrey Vogel ’07 (Lutherville, Md.), biology major Rhae Anna Riegel ’07 (Robbinsville, N.J.), and Lauren Longenecker ’10 (Whitehall, Pa.) all have work on display in the FowlerCenter.
“The work I chose was of a high caliber and represented a number of successful projects made by the students in a variety of materials,” Noble says. “Jeffrey, Rhae Anna, and Lauren are presently in my Fundamentals of Sculpture class, and Peter and Louis were both in earlier sculpture classes of mine.”
The exhibit, created by Joseph “Mick” Chapuk, an artist who teaches adult literacy classes at the FowlerCenter, was a chance to bring young artists of the LehighValley together.
“The goal of the exhibit is not only to showcase the art, but to also give students and faculty an idea of what is going on at other colleges in the Valley as far as art making and instruction. It is a chance to exchange ideas,” says Chapuk. “The students also got a feel for the hard work it takes to prepare for a show. There is also a sense of validation, which is often hard to come by in the art world.”
Student artists submitted work in a variety of mediums, such as painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking, collage, installation, video, and design.
“It boosts the students’ self-confidence to know that their work can be seen alongside their peers from other institutions, and it is very important for them to have their work seen in a different context besides a classroom or studio,” says Noble. “This exhibit places their work in a public arena and gives them an insight into how a professional artist’s work is viewed.”
Huntley, who hopes to embark on a career building musical instruments, created a sculpture made of bamboo and plastic wrap that is on display in the exhibit.
“It is a huge compliment to have Professor Noble submit my piece,” he says. “The fact that it is being displayed among works from other schools shows that my work is taken seriously.”
The Hot Young Artists of the Valley exhibit followed on the heels of Some Serious Business – Art of the Valley, which consisted of the work of art professors from colleges and universities in the Lehigh Valley. The exhibit offered the professors the opportunity to take one room on the first floor of the Fowler Center and install their work traditionally or transform the room into a site-specific work. The result was 42 rooms filled with the work of 49 artists, and the idea evolved into the student-centered show.
Noble, who participated in Some Serious Business, believes that it’s important for Lafayette students to participate in Valley-wide exhibits.
“Exhibits like this inform those from other institutions and the public of the variety and caliber of work produced by students here at Lafayette,” he says.
Other participating colleges and universities include CedarCrestCollege, KutztownUniversity, LehighUniversity, LehighCarbonCommunity College, MoravianCollege, MuhlenbergCollege, and NorthamptonCommunity College.