With the School of Art galleries filled to the brim with creations of paintings, videos and sculptures, the real highlight of the Sunday night gathering was the energy. Smiles and laughter carried throughout the galleries as students and art lovers came together in the spirit of creation to celebrate up-and-coming artists.
Master of fine arts students from across Los Angeles gathered at Cal State Long Beach for the the 13th Greater Los Angeles MFA exhibition. The student-curated event featured works from 23 Masters of fine arts students from Cal State Northridge, UCLA, and other Los Angeles based art institutions.
Debuting in 2005, the exhibition began as an opportunity for students from different schools to have their works featured together.
“The main idea behind the exhibition came in response to a show organized by the UC schools, which Cal State schools were not invited to participate in,” exhibit organizer Elena Roznovan said. “A group of graduate students came together and created GLAMFA and now its become a tradition every year.”
Pieces featured in the exhibition were scouted by the Fine Arts Roundtable, a collective of Long Beach students in the Master of fine arts program. Scouting began in the spring of last year with members of the group looking through student art galleries and online submissions.
“Usually its a variation of works where we select five to 10 pieces and it sort of builds a theme,” Roznovan said. “There is never something specific we’re ever looking for, we just pick the best of the best in our opinion.”
Stacey Alexander, a student from Cal State Northridge and featured artist, was thrilled to be taking part in the event.
“I was obviously excited because [“Virtual Reality”] was my first project after I joined the MFA program,” Alexander said. “I really didn’t think it’d be featured so that’s awesome.”
Emily Jones, an student from Cal State Northridge and participant in the 2017 show, mentioned the biggest takeaway from taking part in the exhibition was the networking among student artists.
“It’s amazing because you meet new people and it’s really nice to meet other artists from all the different schools,” Jones said. “There’s this girl’s work I saw three years ago at GLAMFA and I crushed hard on it. It’s cool to see all these artists venture out and do great things but we’ll still have this experience to share.”
Another CSUN student, Pablo Estrada, was featured in the Max L. Gatov Gallery for a few print photographs.
“I took those pictures on days that might not have been the best for me,” Estrada said. “But it’s a reminder that everyday shapes you in the good and bad so to look at every experience as important to what makes you who you are.”
Friends with both Jones and Alexander, Estrada was happy to see familiar and new faces throughout the event.
“It’s cool to see people I went to school with doing big things,” Estrada said. “And it’s great to take inspiration from the other artists.”
Organizers of the event called the attention of everyone at 7 p.m. to announce the best in show of the night. Haena Yoo’s and Amy MacKay’s pieces were selected by the judges and given free museum passes.
Haena Yoo, an student at the Art Center College of Design won for her piece, “Gunttin’n Out” in the Max L. Gatov Gallery while University of California Irvine student Amy MacKay won best in show in Marilyn Werby Gallery for her oil painting, “Johanna II”.
Her piece, an installation that incorporated found materials and video projection, touched on the issue of immigrants, especially in the Los Angeles marketplaces, by printing blank California IDs on tortillas to represent the fear someone have with gaining citizenship.
“I wanted to bring up this political and current topic so I’m happy that this important issue can be highlighted and seen by so many,” Yoo said.
Sintia Segovia, an organizer of the event also had her work featured. She was highlighted as the best in the open galleries, where pieces from Long Beach students were featured. Being in her last semester at the school, she was thrilled to end her time here on such a high note.
“It feels great that an independent Los Angeles based gallery has chosen my work,” Segovia said. “It’s a sign that my work communicates strong ideas and a good way to end my career here.”
GLAMFA will remain featured in the galleries for viewing until Jan. 31. They will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and each artists work can be found on the GLAMFA website.