The Self, Realized
These ideas are also strongly realized in Camila Hernandez, “My Mother Awaits for me” a painting depicting one woman hunched over another woman, consuming her entrails. Hernandez expresses intimacy, disgust, and ritual. The cool blues and feeling of night and ghostly color of the woman laying on her side give a sense that the consumption is consensual. Aislynn Stewart and Nikki Haas also touch on themes of self reflection through ritual, and consent. The figure in Stewart’s painting “Divine by Witchlight” gives off a feeling of relationship between the figure and the green orbs, perhaps spirits, perhaps raw energy. It’s left ambiguous for the viewer to decide. Whereas Haas’s painting “So, Herr Enemy” shows fierce inner resolve, we can only imagine the depths of the contract made within this “femme warrior” as she grasps her sword so tightly that blood runs from her hand down the sword.
No Divide KC
1st Annual Student Exhibition 2025
Curators Statement
By Elise Gagliardi
Is an exhibition that brings together student artists from UMC, KCAI, UMKC, the University of Missouri, Longview, and JCCC. Within the submitted works of art, there was a clear thread of deep self introspection. More specifically, themes of identity realized through images of the body, or portraiture.
I wanted to celebrate these vulnerable, exploratory works of art by giving them a place in this exhibition. I was interested in finding ways in which the artists used their materials to express the physical and emotional layers of their subjects.
When looking at works like Oscar Hunt's Brick piece with the words “Are you mad at me” scrolled across in black cursive lettering, next to Abwun Brown painting of a soft body rising out of an egg. There are strong visual indications given by the artists that trigger a sensorial response in our own bodies. The feeling of having someone angry with you, the tender and vulnerable space of dependency or codependency. Exploring the sensation of the self in relationship with a parent, a lover, or a friend.
When considering the use of space in each of these works, I invite you to take note of the posturing of the hands and eyes in each piece. How is the space inhabited or not inhabited, what feelings are invited as we view the different artworks? There are meaningful cues that are being given by each artist when you study the gestures of the hands and the gaze of the eyes. Whether they are open, closed, offering, raised, folded or covering.
I find it brave and exciting to see the way each of these artists express vulnerability and in ways confidence by telling personal narratives through symbolic imagery and experimental mediums.
“By centering personal narratives and material experimentation, this exhibition invites viewers to witness moments of exposure, resilience, and revelation. The works ask us to consider the ways in which light—both literal and metaphorical—interacts with the body, revealing the depths of selfhood in each stroke, line, and sculpted form.”
-Waleska Rodriguez
Program Director