The judges are buoyed.
Rather than despair and angst, this year’s Emerging Talent 21 — the annual exhibit of Grade 12 art at Coquitlam’s Evergreen Cultural Centre — highlights a more positive spin to their projects than in years past, with a bounty of colour.
On Monday, retired SD43 art teachers Keith Rice-Jones, Michael McElgunn and Melanie Stokes reviewed some 120 pieces submitted by the high school entrants and selected about 85 works suitable for the display that opens Sunday and runs until Feb. 18.
Unlike in previous years, none is oversized; however, there are a couple of 3D sculptures created by Port Moody secondary’s Andra Galbin-Pristauu that will likely be talking points when the show opens.
For example, in Broken by Influence, Galbin-Pristauu used plastic, glass, wood, paper and fabric to design a teenage boy leaning over on a chair; a shattered mirror with negative words hangs on the wall in front of him. As well, Galbin-Pristauu has a self-portrait in ceramic — its head pierced with rings with a plant growing out of the head; the mixed media piece is titled Who Am I To You?
Port Moody and Gleneagle secondaries have the most entries, said Chantelle Fawcett, the gallery’s curatorial assistant and the curator of Emerging Talent 21 who is organizing its layout today (Tuesday).
Painting is the most popular medium, she said, but pen-and-ink and charcoal drawings, photography and jewellery (for the first time) are represented, too. Gleneagle secondary’s Kiki (Qiqi) Lu also shows her graphic design on a tea box while soapstone, chains, wood and sand are also employed in other works.
“What we’re looking for are the conceptual and technical elements,” McElgunn said. while jurying . “This art is coming from Grade 12 students who are going to art school in the fall and the work needs to be of high quality…. In most cases, this is their first showing in a public gallery and it’s a real boost to their resume to be included in the exhibit.”
Stokes said each Emerging Talent display is different and offers fresh insight into what Grade 12 students are working on in their final year before heading off to such renowned institutions as the Pratt Institute (New York), University of Toronto or Emily Carr University of Art + Design.
Emerging Talent 21 was organized by Stokes’ successor at Gleneagle, Robyn Croft.
• To comment on the student artwork, using the social media hashtag #emergingtalent21.
jcleugh@tricitynews.com
