The art department kicked off an exhibition displaying the work of four Advanced Placement art students Tuesday in the Feldman-Horn Gallery.
Participant Haley Levin ’20 said she saw the exhibition as a success and that she is enthusiastic about it going forward.
“I’m very proud of [Cleo Maloney ’21, Oscar Montañez-Garay ’20, Hailey Hameetman ’20] and myself for putting in the hours to submit these [AP] portfolios,” Levin said. “I watched every one of them prioritize art-making in their lives and it was exciting to watch. Getting our own exhibition is very exciting.”
Levin said she had also looked forward to seeing both her own art work and the work of her classmates come together for the showing.
“I love every piece in the gallery and I saw them all come to life very slowly,” Levin said. “It’s incredible to see the final picture all at once. Since I do large figural oil paintings, they take a long time to make. By the time I finish one, the other is already at home.”
Maloney described the feeling of satisfaction she experienced after seeing her work on display.
“Seeing your work on the wall is so gratifying, yet similarity it’s a stepping stone,” Maloney said. “It feels like a point of departure too, from the work you’ve made to the work you will create. That gratification is so fulfilling, yet also driving.”
Annual exhibits
In the past, the school has held annual exhibitions for seniors who submitted an AP Studio Art portfolio.
This exhibition features work in clay, glass, drawing, painting, photography and film.
“It is rare for a Harvard-Westlake junior or sophomore to submit to [AP Studio Art], but we were going to make enough work anyway and it made sense to submit an AP portfolio,” Levin said.
Distinct focus for paintings
Many of the paintings that will be available for viewing at the exhibition have distinct focuses developed based off of the creator’s thesis choice.
Levin said her paintings are meant to depict her role in her family, which she hopes is a theme that many students will be able to connect with when viewing her work.
“My concentration focused on my experience as a younger sister, which I hope a lot of people can relate to,” Levin said. “My older brother shaped a lot of my personality—strong opinions, brutish behavior, etcetera. I am also a very sensitive person, so in this series, I tried to capture that duality of traditional ‘masculinity’ and ‘femininity’ with symbols of my mother and sister.”
