Story by Zach Avery, Editor-in-Chief

This issue’s cover artist, Ezra Faust, along with 17 other AQ art students are being featured this month at the Art & Music Center’s (AMC) gallery space as a part of the annual “Student Show.” Submissions were taken from currently enrolled students who have completed recent projects in an art course, which are then evaluated by several Aquinas art professors for selection.

“We want students, if they want to show their work, to have the opportunity to do so,” said adjunct professor and selection committee member Nathan Lareau.

Gallery shows like this one are necessary for AQ art students as they work towards bettering their talents and showcasing their work thus far. One such burgeoning artist is Ezra Faust, a track athlete and fifth year BFA student focusing in sculpture and ceramics. However, visitors to the gallery will not find one of Faust’s sculptures in the mix; instead, Faust has displayed the first in his ongoing series of abstracted profile paintings called “Industry.”

“These paintings have an almost 3-dimensional quality where there are things being pushed and pulled,” Faust said. “And you kind of argue with yourself when you’re looking at it.”

While each of the Industry entries share similarities, such as a strong, black line design and repetition of shapes, every new painting has an entirely different subject. This is because each “Industry” painting represents one of the friends Faust has made while living at Aquinas College.

“The colors relate back to my friends’ personalities,” Faust said. “The color I see them as, or the color they most bring out in themselves.”

With such a wide array of differing voices, styles and artistic mediums of choice, arranging this gallery show so that it flows with a cohesive theme has been a challenge for the many student workers who organized it.

“Once you get the artwork, it’s really about laying it all out and seeing what’s best,” said Ashley Postema, acting gallery director for the AMC. “You want the pieces to be in dialogue with each other and play with each other.”

“I look at these [paintings] and I relax, and I feel like I’m in a space where I should be,” Faust said. “That’s what I want people to feel as well, that they’re welcomed into the work and should sit back and enjoy it.”

The student show will be present in the AMC gallery for the entirety of March.