Rhoda Sherbell Class Show

by Rhoda Sherbell | May 16, 2013

Connections is a departure from my past student concours. We wanted to show how the class work is cohesive and how it interrelates. We are many things, after all, not just sculpture students working in one way.

Connections by Rhoda Sherbell’s Class, 2012–13. Photo: Lilian Engel.

Stoic Gorgon by Andrew Luy. Photo: Leo Juvier.

Beauty of Life by Larissa Shen. Photo: Leo Juvier.

Anguish by Vilma Vimos Pelaez. Photo by Leo Juvier.

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Connections offers a whole new way to see the sculptures. It is a single piece of art: a gestalt. The theme is unity. This collaborative piece incorporates the effort of the entire group. Each student partnered with other students to connect his or her own work to the larger piece in a way that would create a unified whole. Everyone brought a personal story, and each one decided to do things specific to his or her own experience. In this way, the individual works were intimate but also dealt with common interests.

We worked on this project all year. In addition to their sculptures, some students wrote music, so that the piece became theatrical, a happening. It’s something we all can understand—the excitement in the room, the strength of people helping one another.

Connections will be on view until 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 18 in the Phyllis Harriman Mason Gallery.

—As told to Helen Dwork