In many art exhibits, it is the similarities in artwork that brings a gallery together. But for Long Beach State ceramics majors Althea Fultz, Corrie Wille and Yoon Hwang, the dissimilarity in their artistic styles brought their exhibit “Odd Things” to life.
Approached by Fultz and Wille with the idea to collaborate, Hwang already desired doing a student art gallery and liked the idea of combining their art together, despite their vastly different styles.
“It was really random,” Hwang said. “I thought, ‘let’s see where this can go.’”
The three worked to combine their styles — Fultz’s historically influenced pots, Hwang’s glazed green figures and Willie’s rainbow wall pieces. Each element of the gallery proves itself to be vastly different from the next, but the three believe that their exhibit is a juxtaposition worth experimenting with.
Post-graduate art major Danielle Miceli appreciated this variation and especially favored Wille’s piece “Landscapes,” composed of nine rainbow ceramic wall sculptures in ambiguous shapes.
“It’s definitely eye-popping and innovative,” Miceli said, motioning to Wille’s sculptures. “I haven’t seen something like this at the school yet — they were definitely thinking outside the box.”
Placed across from “Landscapes” are Hwang’s two glazed ceramic pots “The Green Things.” While creating the pieces, people frequently asked Hwang if “The Green Things” functioned as pots due to the opening at the top of the sculpture, but he wanted his art to look like more than just a functional pot.
“I tried to take away their function by covering the top,” Hwang said. “I put faces on them — they’re more like cartoon characters than just a pot.”
Differing from Hwang and Wille’s art, Fultz’s six Minoan and Crete-inspired pots and ceramic sculptures make up the rest of the gallery. These sculptures range from a tall, intricate white sculpture “White Urn with Stick,” to tiny, bead-like figures in a ceramic bowl titled “Still Life with Almonds.”
Balancing between historical influences and her own personal style, Fultz’s art features earthy tones and intricate detailing which is a nod to ancient Minoan and Crete pottery and paintings.
“I used to be fascinated by historical costumes,” Fultz said. “History influences me.”
While each component of the gallery varies entirely from the next, the ceramic material is what unites all of the styles together. Fultz, Wille and Hwang believe “ceramics” is a vague term for the type of artwork they create, and this belief is conveyed through the drastically different styles of artwork featured in their exhibit.
“Odd Things” is among four other student galleries that can be viewed from noon to 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, and from noon to 7 p.m. Wednesday. These galleries are located at the School of Art galleries in the Fine Arts Buildings between FA3 and FA4.