Student show poorly conceived

An honest question: What is one to expect of student artwork? It's understandable to desire the aesthetic value and sophistication of idea displayed in mature artists' work, but such high expectations often lead to disappointment. "Good" student art, then, would be that which displays thought about visual representation and meaning, but may want for technical skill and artistic experience. It shows the potential for quality. The current exhibit of works produced by the two undergraduates chosen to attend the prestigious and competitive summer-long art program in Norfolk, Conn. struggles to suggest this potential.

STEVE YBARRA/YH A Wiley Kestner drawing.

Two junior art majors are usually chosen each year to receive the Yale Stoeckel Trust Fellowship to attend the summer program, which invites art students across the country to participate in six weeks of painting, drawing, printmaking, and photography under the tutelage of top professors. Last year's participants were Marian Smith, BK '02, and Wiley Kestner, TD '02.

Kestner's painting and photographs show a concern for the divisions we impose upon space through the act of looking, but some of the divisions he imposes seem didactic and unnecessary. A strong, 12-panel painting of a lake is a definite exception to this criticism, but still suffers from an overly impressionistic brush stroke that confuses parts of the work.

Both Kestner and Smith's prints benefit from a looser hand, but this freedom makes it more difficult to recognize intentionality in their specific mark-making. Smith's 13 self-portraits show a consideration and intelligence, but leave one wondering why anyone other than the artist should find them interesting—most of the other works are similarly academic and difficult to access. Perhaps these works are better suited for studio critiques than the walls of the Holcombe T. Green, Jr. gallery.

Through Sat., Nov. 10.

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