House of Mirrors

This year's senior exhibition presents the work of young artists whose lives—as individuals, as students, as members of a family or community—are in a unique state of flux. Like all of us, they are navigating their prospects in the post-pandemic world with hopeful trepidation, as well as the profound desire to (re)connect with others.

It has been my great pleasure to advise this group in exploring and expressing the tension between their drive toward reentry into society at large, and an equally intense, much more personal and reflective inward movement, which has led them to grapple with, make sense of, and meaningfully question their memories, stories, identities, and bodies through art.

While statements to the effect that COVID-19 put us "all in the same boat" are rife with myopic privilege, the virus created an unprecedented baseline of shared vulnerability, and I am especially proud of Benny, Catherine, Jamie, Joaquin, Lorena, Maddie, Madeleine, Nan, Noah, Sarah and Zay for channeling this vulnerability through their own experiences while embracing it as a creative asset. 

To do so required considerable inner strength and resilience in the face of serious technical and logistical challenges, not to mention the limited ability to work and grow together as a group. These seniors have made the most of reduced access to facilities and resources, and found inspiration and solidarity on the virtual platform of our weekly meetings by giving of themselves beyond anyone's expectations.

As co-curator of this exhibit with Liz Maelane, I want to thank our galleries and exhibitions manager Gabriel Harrison and our preparator Garth Fry for their tremendous support, as well as all participants for generously involving me in the process of developing their vision from concept to finished piece. On behalf of the Stanford Department of Art & Art History, I offer our graduating students congratulations on an impressive accomplishment, and our very best wishes toward the careers they are set to successfully pursue.

–Jonathan Calm, Curator