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When I was out at the Community College of Baltimore County campus recently, I walked through the Gallery in the Art Department building and discovered the the most recent exhibition. It is a tight robust show of sixteen members of the graduating class. The exhibition is titled:
BECOMING 2012
ADIM Student Transfer Show. It features students who are graduating this semester and are going on to their next step at a college or university. (Closing Reception: Friday February 10th, 6pm-8pm)
The works in the exhibition range in style and type, from the comic to the somber, from the formal to the ephemeral. The connection is they all have the exuberance of being created by students heavily immersed in their work and starting to spread their wings, to find their voice. There was one piece in particular that caught my attention. A wall of playfully drawn sepia water-colored cats, rendered like human portraits, sitting upright sporting clothes. Beneath the portraits an actual table for two with a checker cloth, a vase and a red rose and a deck of cards set out as if a poker game was in progress. This work transcended the “student” (a dubious title anyway), and would be at home in any number of indie shows in the region as of late. It defied exact definition, yet was equally intriguing and humorous. The viewer was left to fill in the narrative. I felt it was like a film set from a neo-western, such as Deadwood, but starring cats. Oh, what a show that would be.
I contacted the artist, Jenstine Dehitta, who it turned out worked in the gallery as well, arranged for an audio interview. Upon first meeting Ms. Dehitta, she spoke quietly and seemed quite shy, but when asked to discuss the exhibition and her work she became outgoing and lively. It turns out she indeed has a full narrative for the cats in the portraits, one that went far beyond my consideration. They were mobbed up she said, some Russians, some Italian and all based on specific breeds of cats. The story even spread to spin off narratives involving spies and intrigue. One looks forward to the potential for an expansion of this work, as it clearly exists in the artists mind as near reality. Near the end of the interview and we spoke of how she will miss he school and the comradely she has had with her fellow students. The more intimate art department at CCBC means the students know one another very well as they share these formative years. She has applied to a several name arts oriented universities and colleges with plans to begin the next phase of her education in the fall.
Interview with Jestine Dehitta
(if the soundcloud audio player does not appear below refresh your browser page. You will need the latest version of flash to utilize this feature) Interview with Jensine Dehitta by RADARREDUX
The Gallery at CCBC Catonsville
BECOMING 2012
ADIM Student Transfer
Featuring the artworks of 16 CCBC art students.
Building Q, Art and Design Classrooms
800 South Rolling Road
Baltimore, MD 21228
443.840.4246
Exhibition dates:January 23rd – February 11th, 2012
Closing Reception: Friday February 10th, 6pm-8pm
Gallery Hours: Monday – Thursday, 10am-8pm
Friday – Saturday, 10am-5pm
OPEN STUDIO
Catonsville: Friday, February 10th, 6pm-8pm,
www.ccbcmd.edu/adim/galleries.html
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