Merced College student art takes center stage

The Merced College Art Gallery held a reception Wednesday for the roughly 90 student pieces on display through May 14.

The annual show has drawn more than 150 entries in past years and drew nearly that many this year, according to gallery coordinator Susanne French. But, she said, this time around a team of judges picked only the best for the show.

She said that system keeps the gallery from being crowded with pieces. “We wanted to have a more professional-looking show,” she said.

The walls are covered in paintings, drawings, prints, photographs and digital art, while stands in the center of the room highlight sculpture and ceramics.

The pieces come from students who have taken an art class during either semester of the school year, she said.

One of those students, Humberto Maldonado, displayed two ceramic pieces he made. The 22-year-old from Livingston said putting his work out for others to see can make an artist feel some anxiety.

But, he said, most of the feedback among the student artists was positive. It must not make him too nervous, because he’s planning to continue to study art at California College of the Arts in Oakland or California State University, Stanislaus.

Along with ceramics, he paints and makes mixed media pieces.

Growing up in rural parts of the Valley, he said, sometimes makes him fill pinned in. That can also be fuel for creative work.

“Sometimes it’s kind of stressful being in the Valley,” he said. “But, there’s an escape within art.”

The Merced College Gallery is open from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. and from noon to 2 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and by appointment. For more information, call French at (209) 384-6064, or email her at french.s@mccd.edu.

This story was originally published May 7, 2015 at 11:35 AM with the headline "Merced College student art takes center stage."