Sonder

TAYLOR BEMISDERFER - ANDREA BURNS - RACHEL CANIGIANI - SYDNEY CLOTHIER - DANI CRAWFORD - LAUREN DADDEZIO - GABRIELLE DONNELLY - VICTORIA DUGGAN - HEATHER HILLES - RACHEL JIMENEZ - NATHAN KUHNS - CHRISTINA KUZMICK - JUDAH LICHAROWICZ - HANNAH LINDSAY - OLIVIA MATTHEWS - JAMES ROVITO - DREW STAUFFER

VIEW THE EXHIBITION Ι 3/20 - 3/31.2021

SWIFT GALLERY ι BREIDENSTINE HALL (3rd Floor)

Virtual Reception - Featuring Gallery Talks and Q&A Session ι  Tuesday, March 23 at 12:05 pm EST

Gallery Hours ι  Standard business hours for Swift Gallery are Monday - Friday from 8:00 am - 4:00 pm. Hours are subject to vary in accordance with University established holidays (below) and the reception, gallery talk/s or awards ceremony.

About the Exhibition ...

Sonder will feature the work of 17 artists who are exploring a range of media, including Drawing, Painting, Sculpture, Printmaking, Photography and Ceramics. This group show serves as an important component of the Capstone Studio Art Course, Beyond Making: Strategies for Success. Through this process the class works together to plan, promote and install a group exhibition, providing an invaluable hands on learning experience, helping prepare students for their life and career after college.

About the Artists ...

---

TAYLOR BEMISDERFER ... 

Artist Bio 

Taylor Bemisderfer was born in York County, Pennsylvania in 1999. In the year of 2022, she will receive her BFA in Art and BSE in Art from Millersville University. She is set to show her work in her first group exhibition entitled Sonder in March 2021 and will have her first solo exhibition in the Spring of 2022. She currently resides in York County and her work demonstrates an emphasis on functionality as well as technique and simplicity. 

Artist Statement 

The body of work that I have created encompasses the feelings of anxiety and stress that most of us often feel daily, especially with the addition of everything that has happened in the last year. There are five pieces total. Each consists of elements that have been thrown on the wheel, cut in half, and then reattached by hand to something new. The first piece is half of a basic cylinder. That same cylinder is carried over into the second piece and is then attached to half of a vase. This foundation is present in each of the remaining pieces and with every work something new is added whether it be a handle, plate, or cup. The concept here is that with each piece, nothing is resolved, but something is always added, translating to feelings that a multitude of us have likely felt or are feeling in the past and present. 

---

ANDREA BURNS ... 

Artist Bio 

Andrea Burns is a printmaker an illustrator working from Lancaster, PA. Her work primarily focuses on using anime, manga, and the art of video games as a vehicle for portraying her own personal experience as a queer woman. 

Artist Statement

Utilizing a love for anime and vide games from an early age, my work in the past year and a half has heavily focused on my inability to feel the vulnerable and empowering experiences that many non-queer people get to embolden. Through these experiences, I aim to reflect queer people in situations of high-regard and revere, such as roles as protagonists and relationships that are mutual and loving. 

---

RACHEL CANIGIANI ... 

Artist Bio

Rachel Canigiani is a Lancaster based printmaker who will earn her B.F.A., with a minor in chemistry and a minor equivalency in art history, from Millersville University in Spring 2021. Rachel discovered printmaking in 2018 through her coursework, and since then, largely as a result of developing a home studio practice, has found a love for screen printing, making cyanotypes, and digital art due to their accessibility. Her interests in mycology, which is the study of mushrooms, and organic chemistry, both influence her making process and content, which explores her relationship with and discovery of her identity. After graduating, Rachel plans to attend graduate school and pursue her interests in art restoration and conservation. 

Artist Statement 

Being raised on scientific principles influences my artistic practice. Art has led me on a personal journey to discover my identity as I have come to terms with the perception of myself, how others perceive me, and the ideal of what I may wish I could be. Mycology, which is the study of mushrooms, provided a framework for developing this body of work. Mushrooms have 72 recorded genders and there are 6,721 unique types of “little brown mushrooms,” which are visibly indistinguishable from each other, so mycologists rely on taking an image of the underside of a mushroom’s cap, called a spore print, in order to identify its species. This spore print reveals the true identity of the mushroom, without needing to make assumptions about its outward appearance to do so. In order to develop a sense of confidence and comfort in discussing sensitive, personal topics, I have developed a personal symbol in the likeness of these spore prints. This symbol is superimposed with my head to represent the way I see myself and to remove my physically defining features. 

---

SYDNEY CLOTHIER ...

Artist Bio 

Sydney Clothier was born in 1999 in Pennsylvania, where she currently lives. From a young age she was interested in making by observing her mother’s crafting. She is in the process of earning a bachelor’s in arts degree and psychology minor from Millersville University. She explores multiple mediums to investigate emotional connections to art-making. 

Artist Statement

My series Self was created during a moment of frustration and anxiety. I acted on impulse, grabbing my digital camera, switching to manual focus, then turning the lens completely to one side. I did not set up a tripod, I did not check the exposure, I just pointed the lens at my face and shot. The result was a plethora of distorted and abstracted raw images which I sorted through, looking for strong compositions and narrative potential. The spontaneity of this process is not usual for me. When I make art out of personal motivation I tend to focus on self-reflection and art as therapy (e.g., a way of catharsis). It was interesting to realize that even with the process being spontaneous it still upheld my personal motivations. 

---

DANI CRAWFORD ...

Artist Bio

Danielle Crawford (her friends call her Dani) was born in England in since both her parents come from a military family. She was raised in a small hick town called Waynesboro Pennsylvania though. Here she felt different from everyone else, as an independent brown-skin girl she automatically knew she wasn’t like everyone else in Waynesboro. She studied hard and fought to be seen by her peers. She tried doing everything, but her passion led her to expressing herself through art. After being accepted to Millersville University for art, she finally felt like she belonged to a real community. Now she keeps trying her best to show what she can do, making art that is true to herself. 

Artist Statement

I try to express my deepest darkest feelings; crippling fear, loneliness, but also passion to fight these dark thoughts. I value long and detailed processes, it helps to push how strenuous my feelings can be on my mind and body. I include elements that show movement; twisting, flowing, curling, branching - creating visual energy to convey the physical experience of feeling strong emotions. Trying to push myself creatively and technically; I’m a perfectionist and I tend to make the most simple design a long and arduous task to complete. It is easier for me to create these elements in three dimensions rather than two, so I am more comfortable with sculpting. 

---

GABRIELLE DONNELLY ...

Artist Bio 

Gabrielle “Bunni” Donnelly is a BFA candidate at Millersville University with a concentration in printmaking and a minor equivalency in art history. Donnelly has shown her work in various exhibitions held at Second State Press in Philadelphia and Millersville University. She lives and works in Lancaster, Pennsylvania but plans to relocate to New York City. 

Artist Statement

Having had a conflicting relationship with the ideas of femininity and intimacy, my art uses allegory, repetition, and a subversion of expectations to explore the concepts. I believe there are permanent, metaphorical, marks left on individuals or that encompass a space, which I visually explore with color. The color I closely identify with myself is pink, which is why that color can be found in most, if not all, of my works. Incorporating wax has been a new endeavor which has allowed for a new weight to be added to 2D works. This offers an exciting contrast between the material itself and the visual density it provides. I think wax is the perfect material for visually articulating the complexities my current work seeks to investigate. Bunnies, butterflies and flowers are some of the symbols that previously acted as allegorical self portraits, though as the body of work continued to build and evolve, they became friends of myself. 

---

VICTORIA DUGGAN ...

Artist Bio  

Victoria Duggan is a Philadelphia born artist currently pursuing her BFA with a focus on printmaking and drawing. Her work is greatly influenced by the spaces and people she spends time with. She treats her art as a way to make sense of her own thoughts and feelings with the hopes that others can find a sense of comfort or their own story within them. Her work has been featured in group exhibitions at The Demuth Museum, Lancaster, PA, Second State Press, Philadelphia, PA, and in multiple exhibitions at Millersville University, Millersville, PA. 

Artist Statement 

Working through complex life events influences my artistic practice. This act of processing through drawing and printmaking has been a source of comfort for me in times that have been difficult, and gives me something to hold on to. Using animal characters allows the work to extend beyond myself and also aims to make the work more approachable for others. The juxtaposition of characters that are friendly against environments that are based in reality invites the viewer to engage more meaningfully with the work. 

---

HEATHER HILLES ...

Artist Bio 

Heather Hilles was born in Lancaster, PA. She is an upcoming graduate at Millersville University where she will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in art and a minor in CADD. She also has a certificate for interior design from the American Academy of Interior Design. Her work focuses primarily on patterns and textiles, as she hopes to pursue a career in interior design upon graduating. She does not work in a specific medium, instead, she focuses on capturing repeating elements in her work, bringing her interest in interior design to the forefront. Her current body of work utilizes the photography concept of photograms, which will be showcased later this spring in a group exhibition at the Swift Gallery at Millersville University. She currently lives in Lancaster, PA. 

Artist Statement

I enjoy exploring different areas of architecture and design within my work. My interests draw from modern interior design and architecture which I try to show through my work. Through the use of different mediums, I hope to show pattern, repetition, and textile imagery within my body of work. My primary goal is to create pieces that reflect my personal interest rooted in interior design, making it evident to the viewer, while also allowing them to interact with the pieces how they see fit. 

---

RACHEL ANN JIMENEZ ...

Artist Bio

Rachel Jimenez is an artist from Pennsylvania. She mainly works in ceramics and colored portraits. Her art is centered around human emotion expressed through color and animals in an anthropomorphic display. Her work deals with the balance in her life, memories and experience as a 3RD generation Puerto Rican. Rachel’s craft takes references from classical art while putting a modern context to it. Rachel is currently working toward her BFA in Fine Arts at Millersville University and hopes to eventually become an art curator. Rachel Jimenez took a 5 year break from art before committing to art full time in her studies. 

Artist Statement 

Working mainly in ceramics and colored pencils, my exploration is centered around personal experiences as a third generation Puerto Rican. These lessons and memories are manifested in animals forms, making hard talking subjects less difficult to discuss. The goal is to create something colorful, moving and slightly humorous. By taking influences from the Classical Art Period with a modern context, I make a connection between tradition and myself. I pull from ancient folklore and religions as a way of connecting myself to history and filling in a lot of my own missing lineage. I create to claim my own space and to have a physical documentation of my own life experiences. 

---

NATHAN KUHNS ...

Artist Bio

Nathan Kuhns was born and raised in Lancaster Pennsylvania. Growing up, Nathan showed a love for the outdoors and animals but also showed a great interest for making things. In his youth he created many things from real life, shows and his imagination out of almost anything but mostly out of playdough, sculpt clay. At the age of seven he was taken in by a local at home artists where he was taught ceramics. His lessons continued up into high school where he took ceramics classes learning new approaches, techniques and working along side others doing so. Currently he attends Millersville university pursuing a Bachelor of fine arts in ceramics and sculpture. Attending Millersville university is where his growth had shown the most, becoming more social, learning new skills, interest, studies, concepts and picking up other forms of art. His other interests include reading science fiction and fantasy novels, cultural studies, cryptozoological and folklore studies, critiquing b movies, cosplaying and building props, playing dungeons and dragons, and outdoor activities like camping. 

Artist Statement 

I create sculptures that are made from about anything, but it is clay where I am most confident when sculpting. I love to sculpt the things that inspire me, which are fantasies and stories, what I have encountered in life, and what I wish to bring awareness to, and the connection I have with nature. Pretty much all my works have a commonalty showing a relation between man and nature. This can show from how man impacts nature, how nature impacts man or a form of coexistence between the two. The outdoors is where I found my new approach to sculpting using dirt and found materials outside. During a time of hardships and isolation, to adapt I had to find a new interest using the earth around me to sculpt. During isolation I was not truly alone because I shared the area alongside many other inhabitants who lived outside my home. By observing my small neighbors, and giving them names, I decided to capture the essence of those whom I have seen the most. Collecting dirt to create mud, using sticks as armatures, and gathering materials from the trails and areas I found my compatriots, I sculpted their form. 

---

CHRISTINA KUZMICK ...

Artist Bio

Christina Kuzmick (b. 2000) is currently living and working in Lancaster, PA. In 2022, she will receive a BA in Art at Millersville University of Pennsylvania. She is primarily making paintings with a focus on queer personal expression through an eccentric, colorful lens. Kuzmick has exhibited at student shows in Millersville as well as Last Line of Defense, a charity publication on the web. 

Artist Statement 

“Jesus Christ!” is a series of dimensional acrylic paintings in which I have sought out to unpack my ever-contorting relationship with Christianity. The body of work deals in part with self-portraiture as well as borrowing much of the principal imagery from my church upbringing. Each of the six paintings share a vibrant, ostentatious color palette reminiscent of childhood nostalgia, a sensation which is (for better or worse) permanently associated with Protestant Christianity in my brain. As a queer individual, the intricacies of my relationship with faith are often left unsaid, or represented in a way that is sanitized for a more conventional audience. By addressing an array of scenarios without over-explaining them, the series suggests something truly authentic to my personhood. It is my hope that this ambiguity connects to others’ narratives as well. 

---

JUDAH LICHAROWICZ ...

Artist Bio 

Judah Licharowicz was born in 1998 in York, Pennsylvania, he received an associates degree in Art and Design from Harrisburg Area Community College in 2019. This year he is finishing a BA in fine art from Millersville University of Pennsylvania. Judah has already been included in the group exhibition "Picturing the Body”, at the Susquehanna Museum of Art in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and has an upcoming group show; “SONDER”, at Millersville University this March. He currently lives and works in York County, Pennsylvania. 

Artist Statement

“For the artist is not concerned primarily with any theory of life but with life itself, with the joy and loveliness that should come daily on eye and ear for a beautiful external world.” Oscar Wilde I believe the functioning of an object and any further feelings and potential situations that using creates are as much or more important than the aesthetic experience of looking. When art is used; especially ceramics, the art is allowed into a life and can inform how life is acted. Furthermore, using brings the liminal qualities of the materials to the forefront - forth comes loss, damage, repair, remembrance, and then the chance for new experience or object. I work primarily with ceramics and photography. My ceramic process in laborious hand building, using slabs coils and balls. Depending on mood or contemplation I work loosely embodying a truth to materials and showing off hand-built joins and parts. Alternativity for more refined work I can follow the extreme craft and cleanliness of a tight wheel thrower, while still creating shapes and forms unique to handbuilding. 

---

HANNAH LINDSAY ...

Artist Bio 

Hannah Lindsay is pursuing a BFA with a concentration in Printmaking at Millersville University. Lindsay has utilized art and anthropomorphism to visually process internal associations indirectly and directly. Located in Pennsylvania, Lindsay has exhibited work at Second State Press in Philadelphia, as well as student exhibitions at Millersville University. 

Artist Statement

Inherent bonds or associations that we hold within ourselves can at times contradict other's perceptions. Using imagery inspired by older illustrations, typically in children’s books, helps tie my childhood memories with others as many recognize this imagery. For those that do, we can connect on shared memories of childhood. The goal is striving to relate to others in any way, without always having the same background. Despite my intentions when creating these works, recognizable animals and other details leave room for others to create their own narrative. 

---

OLIVIA MATTHEWS ...

Artist Bio

Olivia was raised in Frederick, Maryland. Where she grew up heavily influenced her and her art by providing her with room to experiment and create. She currently resides in Pennsylvania, where she attends Millersville University and is graduating in Fall 2021 She was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult and has since become an activist for ADHD awareness. She currently works in many media, including ceramics and photography. 

Artist Statement 

I have primarily focused on ceramics wheel throwing in my educational career at Millersville, but as of late I have been exploring other 3D and 2D work. While in quarantine, I have been testing my hand at new mediums and processes while time is abundant. Along the way, I re-discovered an interest in photography and the expression and symbolism that can be communicated through a structured image. I completed a series of photos that featured elements of framing, identity, self-exploration and recognition, and entertaining fantasy while remaining rooted in reality. I did this by painting an abstract pattern on myself, suspending a picture frame in the air and painting a similar pattern on the glass, and photographing myself in various expressive poses through the frame. I was thinking about color, pattern, personal meaningful possessions that we keep in our homes, adaptation, how we can frame and reframe our self-image to the public, and how we can move ourselves in and out of various realities. I have found these themes carrying themselves throughout my work in the past year. I chose to continue this body of work and dissect and elaborate upon what I wanted to say with the series. I began to create a commentary on life stuck at home being the new normal. To emphasize this, the work had to acknowledge that each person photographed needed to exist in a different space specific to them that represented their current primary setting. I decided to use that narrow insight as a light reference to Zoom, as that seems to be how we all gather for the time being, especially students. I will utilize this reference in the way I display these images as well. I found it interesting that now on Zoom we are seeing into peoples’ personal lives in an entirely new way, but who they are and their identity on screen could be entirely controlled and fabricated as they choose how to portray themselves and the space where they appear even though we are seeing them in real time. Something happens where the space they share with us becomes both the most and least genuine view into their lives due to the manipulation of what and how we see them in their space. I mimic this through the controlled frame design and the narrow view through it. I decide what to share with the viewer and what to omit regardless of what actually exists in the space. In this work I wanted to convey emotion and reaction to the pandemic through the use of color, subject expression, and by creating a certain distance or divide between the different subjects. My hope is to invoke ideas of communication, unity, isolation, individual and group experience, reaction to space, variation in identity, constructed imagery, perspective, and current reality. 

---

DREW STAUFFER ... 

Artist Bio 

Drew Stauffer is an artist and designer from Lancaster, PA. Drew began creating at a young age remembering the drawings of the characters he’d create for the movies and worlds inside his head. Through his studies at Millersville University, Drew developed an eclectic skill set ranging from coding languages to fine art skills like printmaking and ceramics. Through his passions, hobbies, and experience professionally Drew found an interest in graphic design, merchandising, and advertising. However lately he has been exploring more abstract projects that utilize multi media sculpture and décollage. In his free time, Drew enjoys jiu jitsu, rugby, making music, Dungeons & Dragons, cooking, and gaming. 

Artist Statement

The focus of my work in Sonder is on trauma, anxiety, loss, and the hopefulness that can be drawn from the collective relatability in those feelings. I personally have experienced a lot of loss from physical mobility to literal people in my life within the last year. My goal was to create an interaction between the sculptural piece and the decollage. I wanted it to be as if the pieces were having a conversation or the sculpture piece was looking at a mirror or out a window and realizing the trauma, anxiety, and loss was reflected and experienced by the rest of the world. The sculptural pieces are meant to be representational of personal loss in that they represent an object or image that connects in this case to my own personal losses. This sculpture piece specifically is meant to represent my grandfather and his place in the center of my families “universe” and what his death meant to me personally. The figure is positioned as to be looking toward the “world” the decollage piece and seeing, in the case of materials, literally articles, newspapers, and magazines that spanned 50+ years that showed loss and how the sculpture could “see” it wasn’t alone.