This past weekend, the St. Andrew’s Art Department hosted the first show of the year in the Warner Gallery—and this was, in fact, the first indoor gallery show at SAS since 2019. The showcased student visual art across all mediums, from printmaking to painting and across all different levels of practice. Many St Andreans came out to support their fellow Saints at the Friday night show opening (with the faculty children in attendance by far the most appreciated guests). 

One side of the gallery space was reserved for works produced by this year’s senior Art Majors. Art Major Piper Jenkins ’22 displayed, among other works, “a self-portrait inspired by my favorite novel, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath—it's in a shadow box and I used India ink, gold foil, black beads, and dollhouse furniture— and a mixed-media piece inspired by a poem I [read] in class. I used mirrors, aluminum foil, plaster, India ink, beads, yarn, and watercolor to create an image of the Scottish Selkie myth that I grew up hearing about,” she explained.

Fellow Art Major Mike Liu ’22 said that his “painting explores the concept of the audience taking the perspective of the painting. It is essentially the self-portrait of a painting instead of a person, with the hand holding a paintbrush reaching out to the audience. I applied clear gesso to keep the original texture of the canvas to intensify the interactive feature of the painting.”

Another wall of the gallery was dedicated to a series of works all depicting brass wind instruments—the subject of a still-life assignment given by visual arts teacher Navanjali Kelsey to her Painting 1 students. “I realized that we hadn't addressed how to present metal objects in paint yet—we had worked with glass and ceramic forms,” Mrs. Kelsey said. “I was brought back to high school when I played the French horn and was enamored with how this instrument—beautiful, with so many intricate tubes—reflected the colors that bounced off of it. I raided my parents’ basement and found my brother’s trumpet and baritone to use alongside the french horn. In class, we talked about how different artists depict metal objects in their work. Painting 1 student MJ Jones ’22 has accompanied each painting with a jazz song that inspired her.” If this isn’t a great reason to paint a trombone, I don’t know what is. 

The gallery show was not just limited to works in paint on canvas; printmaking, photography, and film students also exhibited their works. A printmaking course, taught by Arts Department Co-Chair Joshua Meier, was introduced to the arts curriculum in the fall of 2019, and due to the pandemic, printmaking students have not had much opportunity to display their works in the intervening two years. Prints on display included “breakfast, lunch, and dinner at Tiffany’s” by Lia Miller ’23, a serene-looking koi fish print in shades of blue by Emily Wei ’23, and a sharp-looking Queen of Hearts card by Lindy Black ’25. One printmaking student displayed their works anonymously. I don’t know who they are but I am waiting at the edge of my seat for their next print to drop.

There was also no shortage of amazing photos on display at the gallery show—from the mellow yet vibrant portraits by Emily “FUNDY” Funderburg ’23 to the ingenuity and greenery of Masai Matale ’23’s photos of her family. 

Thanks to the community for showing up and supporting the arts at St. Andrew’s!