CSB/SJU senior thesis exhibition: forging a presence

The College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University Art Department is pleased to present forging a presence, a display of senior art majors’ thesis work. Over the course of this school year senior art majors were working and planning their senior thesis exhibition to take place in the Alice R. Rogers and Target Galleries on the Saint John’s campus. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak and the campus closure the exhibition has moved online. Students responded creatively to these changes; we invite you to see their work.

The exhibition includes a range of media, including game cards, sculpture, installation, drawings, digital images, ceramics and letterpress prints. 

Leviathan Addams explores concepts surrounding death and destruction through the cult classic format of trading cards. This is your content warning.

Bryan Alcala’s paintings portray a state of dichotomy; that of both chaos and order. The abstract paintings represent chaotic imagery, that is then organized by borders to depict a more organized work of art. 

Genesis E. Gonzalez - Perez’s sculptures and drawings create an awareness of depression. The works are metaphorical and depict how depression can lead to a possible suicide.

Alex Ouradnick’s letterpress prints convey the complexity of the story of Little Red Riding Hood as told by the Brothers Grimm. 

Nate Saunders explores the tension between the fluidity and rigidity through functional ceramic pots. It also draws inspiration from Brutalism and Mid-Century Minimalist design. 

Lauren White’s installation and digital images create an awareness of the ubiquity and toxic qualities of plastic waste. Although unseen, plastic toxins leech into our earth. Her work speaks to the consequences of plastic consumption on this place we call home. 

Calihan Yliniemi’s installation, Jubilance, evokes feelings of joy through the use of vivid colors. In this new normal, Yliniemi’s installation invites us to find peace in solitude with oneself, reminding us all to appreciate and discover joy in everything we have around us. 

Kailee Young’s ceramic sculptures and drawings center on the concept of alcoholism as a psychological and physiological disease that leaves behind physical artifacts. She uses ceramic beer can sculptures and bodily imagery to convey accumulation associated with the disease.  

Please help us celebrate our graduating seniors and their accomplishments over their time at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University: forging a presence.