Christmas comes twice a year for the Middlebury arts and culture scene when Johnson opens its doors at the end of each semester for its biannual student showcase. In the midst of the stress of finals, student work, especially theses, offer a welcome dose of inspiration during an otherwise hectic time of year.
The most recent holiday showcase bustled with friends, professors and family members taking in a semester’s worth of hard work for Architectural Studies and Studio Art students. A highlight of these showcases is the opportunity to see thesis projects, and this semester was no exception. For their fall exhibition, the ART 0700: Advanced Studio Thesis course displayed 11 projects ranging across mediums and methodologies in the exhibit “Proof of Life.”
The Studio Thesis class allows students to delve into their creative practices in tandem with regular class discussions and critiques. Each student receives studio space and a small stipend to develop their body of work; it is a chance for artists to take their interests seriously and build upon the niches and skills they’ve cultivated throughout their undergraduate careers. This fall, the course was led by Professor of Studio Art Roger White.
“Teaching the senior thesis class is always a pleasure because you get to work with students who are self-directed, creative, and serious about their art. You get to watch young artists make discoveries, reflect on what they're doing, and take it to a higher level of ambition,” White wrote. “At the same time, the class is also an exercise in collaboration: the students organize the exhibition themselves, choose the title and theme, and decide what goes where.”
“Proof of Life” featured everything from oil paintings to photographs to ceramics to a wooden stall in the style of a phone booth. On the exhibit’s opening night, the gallery space was full of big smiles and exclamations of, “Oh my god, I need a print of this in my room!”
“I love how different everyone’s work is and even though we talk about it throughout the semester, the final show is an amazing moment of seeing it all in the same space and seeing our pieces in conversation with each other,” wrote featured artist Rose Robinson ’24.5 in a message to The Campus. “And it is so sweet to see everyone celebrating and sharing that moment with their friends and family.”
Near the entry, Nicoletta Coupe ’25’s renderings of the Willard Beach Shacks on the coast of Southern Maine are a beautiful, poignant appraisal of the role of landscape portraits in the time of climate destruction. These works’ transportive tranquility lends itself to an acute interplay with the harsh reality that these shacks have since washed away.
The theme of commemoration seamlessly guides gallery-goers to “Memory VI,” a collection of oil paintings by Ava Carbonara ’25. Six works of oil on linen depict various characters and settings in rich shades and poses, evoking a family’s photo album. With a deft hand, “Memory VI” blends reality with recreation.
The adjacent collection of screen prints by Harriet Dahlstrom ’24.5 adjacent collection of screen prints reproduces dreamlike illustrations of dinosaur-like creatures, patterned boulders, trees and humanoid figures. The repetitions and variations of these motifs demonstrate the merit of coming back to aesthetic ideas again and again.
“I’ve done three theses; each was unfulfilling enough for me to come back for more and try to get it right the next time,” Dahlstrom wrote in a message to The Campus. “This is the first one that I’m walking away proud of the work I did and the pieces I put on the wall.”
The pursuit of collecting and combining to capture a fascination authentic to the artist can be seen throughout “Proof of Life.” For Beckett Pintair ’24.5, a collection of words, self-portraits and audio recordings decorated a wooden booth entitled “Autobiography of a Mirror”.
Nearby Miriam Bamaca ’25’s display consists of one large painting and a series of smaller works on paper. The pieces are mesmerising, a series of energetic lines and dots, that read as a mysterious, hieroglyphic alphabet. Nowelle Spencer ’26 installed a collection of plaster breasts that shirks unrealistic, everyday expectations of what bodies should be and instead, defines them as works of art.
An invitation to personal freedom is also centered in Harper Nichols ’24.5’s featured work. A colorful message reading “Will you play with me?” sets the tone for a bright, Warholian curation of prints, paintings and quilting. Child-like wonder plays off the wall from Nichols’s work to pedestals a few feet away displaying Robinson’s ceramics. In her artist statement, Robinson posits, “I think of my work as children’s literature for adults about how to be children again.”
A fairytale charm similarly shapes Thomas Walsh ’25’s work. Behind curtains fashioned out of bed sheets and thread, two mixed media pieces present mosaics of faces, floral imagery and teeth. Like opening a pop-up book, Walsh cultivates an experience that is immensely fun to look at.
Amanda Martins ’25’s interactive sculptural piece commands the center of the gallery space. A wooden crate, sections of rope and crescent shaped wooden beams painstakingly decorated with feather-like wood fragments hang from the ceiling by intricate threads, creating a work that’s as arresting as it is avant.
Similarly captivating, Ajani Wilson ’24.5’s photography series captures beautiful, abundant natural scenes as well as dark, gloomy interiors. Figures are carefully posed within the photographs which are displayed in tasteful wooden frames. It’s the perfect display to send gallery-goers off with.
“Proof of Life” showcases unrestricted (though always thoughtful) creativity. To quote Dahlstrom, “It’s a grade on the line rather than your livelihood, the way it is for many professional artists.” With the guidance of professors and the support of other students, it’s nothing short of remarkable to see what young Middlebury artists are capable of.
Catherine Goodrich '24 (she/her) is a Senior Arts and Culture Editor.
Catherine previously served as an Arts and Culture editor and Staff Writer. Catherine is an English and Film double major hailing from Birmingham, Alabama. She is the prose editor for the Blackbird Literary Arts journal and works concessions at the Middlebury Marquis where she has developed a love for trivia and making nachos.
