Build Wide Then Up

Experience Build Wide Then Up, a student exhibition curated by Kean Artist-in-Residence Interns Nazira Goldware and Brandon Bravo. This exhibition will feature works by Daniela Arrieta, Linda Davis, Candace Gely, Marielena Guthrie, Taylor Jengo, Kyle Jorgenson, Eric Miele, and Tim Rivera. A closing reception will be held on March 18th from 4pm-7pm.

Artist Statements

Candace Gely and Tim Rivera

Installation
Candace Gely and Timothy Rivera are a collaborative duo hailing from New Jersey. In creating their art and installation through mixed media, they seek to explore the emotional depths and bondage that we as humans deal with. Their installation is a representation of those thoughts. The chains which hang precariously from the wall, act as the physical manifestations of the inner turmoil and pain people deal with daily. The minute gradation from dark tones to bright, colorful tones symbolizes breaking free from tribulations and finding rejoice. The broken mirrors represent the shattered perceptions we have all had at one point or another.

Candace Gely

“Unbound” solo piece
Carrying the weight of the world is grounding. We say, “I feel stuck, I feel that I am… lost.” But, it’s not over. When we are at our lowest, those who see the light within us, help us to move forward. Using two canvases allows the separate images to stand on their own but become stronger once together. With oils, this piece shows oneself and how those who they’ve met and learned to love guided them to higher things. And so together, we build.

In previous works, they’re focused on capturing the human body while also being influenced by the artist’s motions while painting or drawing. Using your emotions can be a tool for creation and letting out what can’t be put into words. This piece serves as a voice for anyone who has ever felt “lost”.

Daniela Arrieta

Daniela Arrieta is a Costa Rican American Artist with a passion for oil painting. Many of her works are an exploration of the relationship between life and death. Daniela’s Costa Rican background is what creates such a deep connection with nature and life. She also uses her work to process and express her grief. They are her thoughts and emotions poured onto the surface of her pictures. Her art depicts it however in a way that does not feel dark and instead feels more of a celebration of life.

She uses oil paint on canvas and typically works with bright contrasting colors using traditional academic techniques. She wants her depictions to look as if they could come up from the canvas at any moment. She also enjoys experimenting with different mediums such as using wax for her sculpture “Souls”.

Daniela is greatly inspired by Monet’s work, specifically his water lilies series. Her work is also greatly influenced by “Vanitas”, works of art that used objects symbolizing death, vanity, and mortality. Daniela’s goal is for people of all ages and backgrounds to look at her work and feel not only inspired but the inevitability of death.

Marielena Guthrie

Marielena Guthrie is an Artist from Staten Island, New York. Everything she paints and creates is done with meraki. Meraki describes doing something with soul, creativity, or love - when you put "something of yourself" into what you're doing, whatever it may be. Her art is another side that she shares with the world. There are three things that contribute to her work. Storytelling - when creating a piece, it must have a beginning, middle, and end. Each figure or object has a part to play and connects the theme/subject together. Color - can represent different emotions. By using that she is able to establish a mood, a feeling, for the viewer to familiarize themselves with and connect them with the piece. Lastly, Soul - to be in tune with herself, with her mind and her heart, is the key to bring her inner thoughts and ideas alive.

Linda Anele Davis

Linda Anele Davis is a concept artist who creates and designs characters and fictional worlds to be brought to life in cartoons. Linda uses traditional academic techniques/media and the new digital media. Character designs and world building are second nature to her. Since she was a child, she loved how artists were able to bring these 2D beings to life and wanted to do the same. From a young age I made original characters and tried to give them interesting back stories. She draws inspiration from things she has seen, experienced, or enjoyed. The littlest things can sprout an idea in her head. She sits down, sketches ideas, and once she has a face created, a full back story is usually planned in her head at that point. She implements different elements depending on her character’s personalities, environments, backstories, and influences. With all these components coming together, good characters and interesting stories to tell are formed.

For as long as she could remember, nothing entranced her more than cartoons and comics. There was something about the colorful expressive worlds seen on screen and paper that wrapped her around their fingers. Art was always her escape from many dramatic (or terrible) incidents that happened in her life. As a child who loved art and had a wild imagination, cartoons and comics were a source of food for her ever growing hunger for creativity. That hunger for more kept growing and has stuck with her to this day. She still watches and reads cartoons, anime, comics, and manga because that child-like spark inside me never died.

Kyle Jorgenson

Based out of Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey, Kyle Jorgenson’s art serves as a reflection of his mind.. Oftentimes he finds himself fixated on specific topics such as current events, personal issues, life experiences, his surroundings, or his emotions. Unable to get these thoughts off his mind, they then form the basis of his work.

In his recent body work, Kyle explores the subject matters of loneliness, pandemia, cabin fever, and anxiety. Experimenting with various mixed media, he attempts to both construct and reconstruct dozens of self-portraits that represent the fear of such unprecedented times.

Evoking his memories, Kyle creates painterly collages of images that bring him closer to reality. Focusing on sexulatity and relationships, he uses his art to analyze many aspects of his life experiences, from his grandmother’s Alzheimers through painful break ups.

Often haunted by a vision, Kyle renders an image in his mind before he’s able to bring it to life. Other times, he starts without any set plans and allows his inspiration and emotion to guide him through the creative process.

According to Kyle Jorgenson his art is a window for others to get to know him on a deeper level. He creates subject matter that he typically doesn't feel comfortable discussing with others. His art reveals what is on his mind, his opinions and emotions . . . Kyle creates art for his own sanity. People relating to his paintings show him that heis not alone and that others have shared similar experiences.

Kyle hopes that his art is able to give others the same level of closure and joy that it brings him.

Eric Miele and Taylor Jengo

Installation
Eric and Taylor wanted to showcase flowers and nature as a sign of growth and longevity. The flowers follow suit of the theme “Build wide then up” due to flowers always growing upwards and reaching new heights. This is much like the human experience, especially when building a family. We chose to depict a house and a mother to represent family and the roots that take hold when creating a household/family. We chose the flowers in the centerpiece due to the meaning behind them. The Irises are for Wisdom and Hope, that which the parents want to give their children as they grow older. The Blue Rose symbolizes mystery, for the unknown future. While the pink rose is for femininity, the energy brought in by the nurturing mother. Finley is the Golden California Poppies, these are referred to in bulk as a “sea of gold” which we believe represent prosperity and good fortune.

Taekwondo Installation
Each belt color/ meaning
White
"Pure and without the knowledge of Songahm Taekwondo. As
with the pine tree, the seed must now be planted and nourished
to develop strong roots."
Orange
"The sun is beginning to rise. As with the morning's dawn, only
the beauty of the sunrise is seen rather than the immense power"
Yellow
"The seed is beginning to see the sunlight.
Camo
"The sapling is hidden amongst the taller pines and must now
fight its way upward."
Green
"The pine tree is beginning to develop and grow in strength."
Purple
"Coming to the mountain. The tree is in the mid-growth and now
the path becomes steep."
Blue
"The tree reaches for the sky toward new heights."
Brown
"The tree is firmly rooted in the Earth."
Red
"The sun is setting. The first phase of growth has been accomplished!"
Black-Red
"The dawn of a new day. The sun breaks through the darkness."
1st Degree Black Belt
"The tree has reached maturity and has overcome the darkness
it must now begin to plant seeds for the future"

Eric Miele

Eric Miele is a concept artist with a passionate interest in creating weaponry and armor for video games. I’ve played video games since I was 4 and I’ve always been drawn into (no pun intended) the artistry and creation of characters, environments, and their weapons. I have always been a creative person from a very young age, to the point where it's very hard for me at times to focus on just one project or idea. It’s the reason I want to do concept art commercially for a gaming company. Being given a task and told to work off of something I feel benefits me more as an artist so that way my own imagination doesn’t go wild. But when I get an idea and run with it, I get such a sense of pride and happiness creating and seeing it come to life. I love the way creation makes me feel and I love the pride and happiness of seeing that final product. The best feeling though is the feeling given to others and is the reason I want to work in the gaming industry. Being able to make people smile and be happy from the creations I create is the ultimate goal. I’ve played many games where I have just been starstruck by the creations, weapons, and environments within. And I want to recreate that for others and keep spreading that joy.

Taylor Jengo

“Dumb as a painter” is a quote that will forever stick with me. Overall my work, whether it be painting or drawings, come from a place I cannot name. Dumb as a painter to me signifies that whilst the artist creates, the mind is blank and the hands and eyes simply work. Why do I know whatever color will improve the composition overall? Why do I know where to add brush strokes or charcoal smudges? I do not know – I simply do. That is the only time in my life I do not overthink. My work simply comes from a reprieve of quiet in my mind. Anything I create is a representation of me, for I know exactly what the image needs to be pleasing to the eye without knowing why. When I create life and magic back into the hand and infinite life.