Upper School Artists’ Work Selected for Guild Exhibition
Once again, the St. Louis Artists' Guild has selected works by Principia Upper School students to feature in their Young Artists' Showcase. Now in its 44th year, this annual juried, all-media exhibition of artwork receives submissions from high schools in a 150-mile radius of St. Louis. This year, 125 pieces were accepted out of the 395 student works submitted.
Together, Upper School Visual Arts Department Chair Caitlin Heimerl (US'06) and art teacher Kristin Martin (US'94, C'98) submitted 15 pieces of art from their students—of which six works were chosen. "When selecting artwork to enter each year, I look for work that shows strong technical skill as well as the student's original voice and perspective," Heimerl explains.
The six pieces (see the slideshow above) selected by the Guild for the March exhibition were created by these five students:
- Leyla Ghanem (US’18)—mixed media
- Bramwell Havi (US’20)—ceramic sculpture
- Kimanii Ogilvie (US’18)—digital
- Aidan O’Hagan (US’18)—a digital piece and a pen drawing
- Erin Shuey (US’18)—scratchboard drawing
Seniors Kimanii and Leyla were enrolled in Advanced Art Topics, which is especially designed for juniors and seniors interested in preparing a portfolio of work in a medium of their choice. In the fall, Heimerl invited artist and gallery owner Erica Popp (US'01, C'09) to share her experience with students and critique their work. Both Leyla and Kimanii also showed the pieces selected by the Guild, along with their portfolios, to college admissions representatives at National Portfolio Day at Washington University in the fall.
The Young Artists’ Showcase will open on March 8, with an artists’ reception, and run through the end of the month at the Guild’s on-site gallery in Clayton (12 North Jackson Avenue). Local artist and gallery owner Ruth Reese is the juror for this year’s exhibit.