Saturday, July 29th, 2023 saw the opening of an exhibition of photography and art from the physical world by Theresa Hermit at the Original Campus Gallery within St. Elizabeth’s University.
I believe this is the first time I’ve witnessed Theresa’s work, but am unsure as to whether this is her first complete exhibition, or the first to be widely advertised. The term “introducing” is used in the advertising, but I gather from chatting with Pat Wheelwright, Director of Residential Living at St. Elizabeth’s, that Theresa has displayed her work there in the past (she is also both the university’s Art History teacher and current president), but these may have been limited in terms of audience, being only advertised within the university’s membership. Either way, I’m glad to have had the opportunity to witness this exhibition, which offers quite the showcase for Theresa’s multi-faceted artistic talents.
In the physical world, Theresa holds a Bachelor of Fines Arts (BFA) degree and has recently completed her Master of Fine Arts (MFA). For those not clear on the difference between these and the Bachelor of Arts (BA) and Master of Arts (MA), the latter two usually centre on the scholarly, academic and critical study, whilst the BFA and MFA centre on professional artistic practice within the chosen field of study. Her work encompasses multiple mediums including watercolour (including gouache), oil, and printmaking, whilst also enjoying drawing and – as demonstrated in this exhibition – photography, where she also develops her own images as well as taking them.
The latter is located on the ground level of the gallery space – the exhibition covering a total of three floors within the gallery – presenting a fascinating series of black and white photographs, mostly taken at a farm in Connecticut. These show a keen eye for composition whilst the use of black and white film brings a sense of time and age to the buildings, furniture and hardware which is sublime in giving a deeper sense of narrative and history that might otherwise have not been apparent.
Within this selection are also images quite fittingly captured at a property once owned by Edward Steichen. He was both a pioneer in the craft of fashion photography and, more particularly in this case, often credited with elevating photography into a recognised art form – and I have little doubt that were he to view the images here, he would embrace them as such.
The middle and upper levels of the gallery – and the stairways linking them – are host to a selection of Theresa’s paintings covering a range of subjects. In this, and as Theresa herself notes, she is not so much led by the artistic opportunity of something she sees, but by the emotional response she feels towards what she sees. This is perhaps most clearly seen within Darkness Falls, a painting of sunflowers set against a backdrop of smoke / dust, painted as a personal response to the events of September 11th, 2001.
Theresa also notes that she eschews “realism” in many of her paintings in favour of her emotions (what she refers to as her work being “representational”), and this further adds a personal depth to her paintings. Again, take GGP Wedding; this is a reflection of the wedding of Theresa’s great-grandparents, taken from a photograph of that event. Within it, the newly weds are shown almost ghostlike; figures and details blurred – a perfect reflection of an event that might be recalled from a time when the eye and mind were too young to capture and imprint all that was seen firmly into memory, allowing the details to become misty over time.
What is also striking about this exhibition are the notes Theresa provides (click the small, wall-mounted signs offered close to the entrances of all three levels of the gallery space). These offer a richness of information, examining the origins of the photographs and paintings, the influences that helped inform their creation, and insights into the approaches she takes to her work. These notes help carry us into Theresa’s creative processes in a very personal way.
A genuinely personal, engaging exhibition, and my thanks to Cayla (YumiYukimura) for the invite to visit!
SLurl Details
- Original Campus Gallery, St. Elizabeth’s University (Dark Dreamer, rated Adult)
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