Senior Thesis Art Exhibition Opens April 11 at Gonzaga’s Jundt Art Museum

Free Public Preview Reception April 10

SPOKANE, Wash. – Gonzaga University’s Senior Thesis Art Exhibition opens Thursday, April 10 with a free public preview reception from 7-9 p.m. at the Jundt Art Museum. The annual presentation, which highlights the work of Gonzaga’s graduating seniors, opens officially to the public on Friday (April 11) in the Jundt Galleries.

The Senior Exhibition marks the culmination of the Gonzaga art department’s Bachelor of Arts degree program. Participating seniors are required to submit a portfolio of work and share responsibilities for all aspects of the exhibition. A small selection of prints and ceramics will be displayed through May 10, graduation weekend at Gonzaga.

The student-artists featured in the 2014 Senior Thesis Exhibition are David Ernst of Redmond, Wash., Rachel Palmer of Post Falls, Idaho, and Michelle Stocking of Seattle. David Ernst always considered art a hobby until he came to Gonzaga, where, he said, it became his passion. He has studied printmaking, ceramics, painting, and drawing and has focused on the printmaking technique, woodblock. Rachel Palmer, a broadcasting major and art minor, studied abroad in Turkey. Palmer’s focus is on printmaking, particularly mixed media monoprints. Michelle Stocking concentrates her efforts as a young artist in the arts of printmaking and drawing. Her current series centers around good “Coffee and Carbs” and exploring the spirit and energy of the city in “Walking Spokane.”

“Recent Acquisitions,” paintings, drawings, and prints, will share the space in the Jundt Galleries. The exhibition was curated by museum intern Claire Meskers. Born in Aurora, Ore., Meskers, attended La Salle Catholic College Prep in Milwaukie, Ore., and will graduate from Gonzaga in May with a Bachelor of Arts in history. During her summer abroad in London, Meskers discovered a passion for art history. She hopes to attend graduate school and obtain her master’s degree in museum studies. “My intention for this exhibition,” Meskers says, “is to show the diversity in the permanent collection.” Some of the artists in “Recent Acquisitions” include Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Keiko Hara, Winslow Homer, Andy Warhol, Sue Coe, and Emilio Sanchez.

The museum’s exhibitions are free and open to the public from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday through Saturday; closed Sundays and school holidays. For more information, please call Karen Kaiser, curator of education, at (509) 313-6613, or visit our website at www.gonzaga.edu/jundt.