Gallery Exhibitions

February 5 - February 29, 2024

The Amy H. Carberry Fine Arts Gallery at Springfield Technical Community College presents “Reclaiming Our Heritage,” a selection of 2D and 3D artwork, art projects, video and text by students from Springfield Honors Academy and Springfield Conservatory of the Arts.

The exhibit by Springfield Public Schools students from these two schools is on view Feb. 5-Feb. 29. A public reception will be held Feb. 17, 11 a.m.-1 pm. (snow date, Feb. 18) Light refreshments will be served, and everyone is welcome.

• February 5 - February 29, 2024: “Reclaiming Our Heritage" by Springfield’s Honors Academy and Conservatory of the Arts students
  
• February 17, 2024, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.: reception for Young Artists

"Reclaiming Our Heritage"

In response to Black History Month, this celebration of BIPOC student artwork focuses on issues of identity with all work created since the beginning of the school year. The term BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) is used in this context to highlight the diversity of students who self-identify as more than one race.

The inspiration for the exhibition came last spring from STCC fine arts major Simba Smith ‘21, a graduate of Springfield Honors Academy. “Reclaiming Our Heritage” was installed by STCC first year-gallery work-study students Alexavier Arroyo, Cassandra Nowak, and STCC gallery work-study students Enaya Ogletree and Elizabeth Bess in their final semester pursuing their associate in arts.

“This exhibition importantly gives not only STCC students curatorial experience, but also gives young aspiring secondary school artists a platform to showcase their talent and artwork in a gallery setting for family, friends, and the community at large to see,” said Sondra Peron, professor and coordinator for the Amy H. Carberry Fine Arts Gallery.

Springfield Honors Academy

With a mission to prepare students for graduation from competitive four-year colleges, Springfield Honors Academy graduated its first class in 2020. The public school focuses on developing the intellectual curiosity and emotional maturity of its students, strategically supporting them in their quest to become their best selves. Springfield Honors Academy students are guided by art teacher Melissa Lynn Barbeau. The art program at Honors Academy offers courses in Foundations of Art, Sculpture, Printmaking, Advanced Drawing and Painting, and AP Art and Design, among others. Barbeau was a graphic designer and art director for over 16 years. She earned a master’s in art education (MAAE) degree from Boston University and is completing her tenth year as a visual arts educator in Springfield, MA.

Springfield Conservatory of the Arts

Springfield Conservatory of the Arts, a city-run magnet school focusing on the performing and visual arts, opened in 2014. In addition to specific art classes, Conservatory teachers integrate the arts into the core subjects of ELA, Mathematics, Social Studies, and Science. Students are guided in their creative efforts seen in this exhibition by art teacher and department chair April Wesley, who has lived in and worked as a Springfield visual art teacher for more than 20 years. She holds a BA in Studio Art/Graphic Design and a Master’s in Art Therapy. The Springfield Conservatory of the Arts enables students to focus on their interest in the arts, whether they are dancers, authors, painters, sculptors, musicians, poets, playwrights, illustrators, or actors.

Both secondary schools are located across from the campus of STCC on State Street in Springfield.

March 18 - April 12, 2024

The Amy H. Carberry Fine Arts Gallery at Springfield Technical Community College presents “A Simple Circle,” a unique photography exhibit on view from March 18 through April 12, 2024, juxtaposes historical and vintage Kodak cameras and original photographs from the late 1880s-1890s with contemporary images created by Leverett photographer and educator James Gehrt. A reception for the photographer will be held on Saturday, April 6, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Other events include a Carberry Conversations Zoom interview, on Wednesday, March 20, at 12:15 p.m., and an in-person gallery talk on Thursday, March 28, at 12 noon. The gallery and all events are free and open to the public.

• March 18 - April 12, 2024: "A Simple Circle" by James Gehrt on view in Amy H. Carberry Fine Arts Gallery
• March 20, 12:15 p.m.: Carberry Conversations interview with photographer James Gehrt (YouTube)
• March 28, 12 p.m.: in-person gallery talk with photographer James Gehrt
• April 6, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.: public reception with photographer James Gehrt

"A Simple Circle"

137 years ago, a small wooden box camera called the Kodak No. 1 was invented by George Eastman. This historic 1888 invention marked the beginning of the democratization of image-making allowing anyone to capture 100 simple round photographs without understanding intricate photochemistry or the need to visit a professional photography studio as was the case since the birth of photography in 1839. With a Kodak No. 1 camera in hand, ordinary people began to document the world as they saw it, the people they loved, and the locations they visited. Eastman's promise of, "You push the button, and we do the rest," leads us to the ubiquity of photography today. We can now reach into our pockets, take out a camera, and share an image of our lives around the world in seconds. Some of these early Kodak cameras will be on display at the Carberry Gallery alongside original circle photographs and Kodak advertisements dating back to the 1880s and contemporary photographs from the 2020s by James Gehrt.

“I love the clean simple circular compositions of these early snapshots. Round photographs, encompassing pets, sailboats, and excursions of all types from the late 1800s, have inspired my vision for a modern-day revisit of the simple circular image.”

James Gehrt

James Gehrt is an artist and educator with over 30 years of experience creating images and studying photography. He holds a BFA in photography from Savannah College of Art and a master’s in library and information science from Simmons University and has lectured on photography at a variety of institutions including, Mount Holyoke College, Simmons University, and the Holyoke Public Library. In 2022, Gehrt published a collection in the form of four quarterly reviews of his photographic work called “From Where I’m Standing…” jamesgehrtphoto.com

• James Gehrt Photography Website

This exhibition and associated events for James Gehrt are supported in part by the School of Liberal and Professional Studies (LAPS), the Fine Arts (A.A.) program, and a grant from the Springfield Cultural Council, which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

April 22 - May 4, 2024

The Amy H. Carberry Fine Arts Gallery at Springfield Technical Community College proudly presents the Spring ‘24 Student Fine Arts Exhibition on view from April 22 through May 4, 2024. A reception celebrating STCC students' artwork will be held on Saturday, May 4, from 11 am to 1 pm.

• April 22 - May 4: STCC Fine Arts Student Exhibition
• May 4, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.: public reception for STCC Fine Arts Student Exhibition

Student Fine Arts Exhibition

Each semester the Fine Arts program faculty at STCC select work to showcase their students' finest work. This spring visitors will see colorful paintings, charcoal drawings, 3D sculptures, and traditional gelatin silver photographs, among many other outstanding design projects, all artwork representing the culmination of student work. This show is not just a representation of “art majors.” On the contrary, regardless of major or career goals, any student enrolled in a fine arts course will display their artwork in the gallery. Most fine arts courses do not require any pre-requisite, and no art experience is required to register for a fine arts course at STCC.

More information about the Fine Arts program

This exhibition and associated events are supported in part by the School of Liberal and Professional Studies (LAPS) and the Fine Arts (A.A.) program.  stcc.io/carberry

September 5 through October 6, 2023

The Amy H. Carberry Fine Arts Gallery at Springfield Technical Community College proudly launches the fall semester with a Hispanic Heritage Month exhibition entitled, The Shell in the Clouds / El Caparazón en las Nubes, by Oaxacan-born artist Pável Acevedo, on view from September 5 through October 6, 2023.

• September 5 - October 6, 2023: "The Shell in the Clouds / El Caparazón en las Nubes" by Pável Acevedo on view in Amy H. Carberry Fine Arts Gallery
• September 20, 2023,10 a.m.: Meet and greet with artist Pável Acevedo
• September 20, 2023, 12:15 p.m. - 1:15 p.m.: Artist demonstration of printmaking techniques
• September 20, 2023, 3 p.m.:  Carberry Conversations interview with exhibiting artist Pável Acevedo (YouTube)
• September 21, 2023, 11 a.m., Artist talk with artist Pável Acevedo

All events are open to the public and will be held in the Amy H. Carberry Fine Arts Gallery in the Fine Arts Building (B28).

The Shell in the Clouds / El Caparazón en las Nubes

The exhibition's title, The Shell in the Clouds / El Caparazón en las Nubes, derives from the belief that Zapotec rulers descended from the clouds and that when they died, they returned there. For this reason, Oaxacans are known as the "People of the Clouds." These centuries-old stories have inspired Pável's practice and are interwoven throughout his work.

"The images created in this series are a celebration of the rebelliousness that is part of ourselves," says Acevedo.

The prints in this exhibition were created during his Beyond the Press residency at Self Help Graphics & Art in California in 2020. His artwork is filled with highly detailed otherworldly sea creatures, half-human/half-animals (nahuales) leading the viewer on a journey. For example, the "nahuales"  in When We Fight, We Win (El grabador/ eating fire), represent wild animals forced to adapt to urbanization and eventually become active participants in a new system–much like migrants who move from one country to another.

Pável Acevedo

Pável Acevedo (b. 1984) resides in Los Angeles, CA and will be in Springfield on September 20 and 21 for a series of in-person events focused on Hispanic Heritage Month, including an artist talk, meet & greet community reception, student engagement activities, demonstration of printmaking techniques, and a live Zoom broadcast of a Carberry Conversations interview.

Acevedo is a printmaker and muralist whose meticulously carved linoleum and woodblock plates include an array of mythological characters inspired by the Zapotec stories shared by his grandfather. In a contemporary context, his imagery tackles issues of migration and immigration, borders, and the duality many immigrants contend with after leaving their homeland for a new nation.

Photo Credit: Rafael Cardenas

Carberry Conversations

The gallery and all associated events are free and open to the public. Carberry Conversations are free and open to the public via Zoom. Please register in advance.

Carberry Conversations continues Wednesday, September 20, at 3 p.m., with a live Zoom broadcast of a conversation between Professor of Arts and Humanities/Photography/Philosophy and Coordinator of Amy H. Carberry Fine Arts Gallery and Cultural Programming, Sondra Peron, and exhibiting artist Pável Acevedo. 

Carberry Conversations is a series of virtual talks throughout the academic year between Professor Peron and exhibiting artists whose work is on view at the Amy H. Carberry Fine Arts Gallery. Conceived in response to the ongoing pandemic, these conversations function as a space to connect working artists and photographers to STCC and the Greater Springfield community covering a wide variety of topics. 

The exhibition and associated events are supported in part by the School of Liberal and Professional Studies (LAPS) and the Fine Arts (A.A.) program.

Indigenous Peoples’ Heritage Month

October 17-November 17, 2023

The Amy H. Carberry Fine Arts Gallery at Springfield Technical Community College presents a powerful Indigenous Peoples’ Heritage Month exhibition entitled, “What is Your Wound? / ᑭᓯᒧᓇᑊᑊᓴᑊᑊᐃᒋ" by Canadian-born, Chicopee-based artist Anthony Melting Tallow on view from October 17 through November 17, 2023. 

• October 17-November 17, 2023: “What is Your Wound? / ᑭᓯᒧᓇᑊᑊᓴᑊᑊᐃᒋ" by Canadian-born, Chicopee-based artist Anthony Melting Tallow, on view in the Amy H. Carberry Fine Arts Gallery in celebration Indigenous Peoples’ Heritage Month
• October 21, 2023, 12:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.: Public reception with artist Anthony Melting Tallow

The gallery and all associated events are free and open to the public. 

What is Your Wound? / ᑭᓯᒧᓇᑊᑊᓴᑊᑊᐃᒋ

In this new exhibition, ‘WHAT IS YOUR WOUND?’, Melting Tallow confronts the trauma of the past and the immediate challenges of the present through a deep act of witnessing into the heart of contemporary Indigenous experience. 

Throughout the exhibit, the viewer is asked to explore the profound intersection of Indigenous history, culture, and identity offered by the artist through a series of contemporary and vintage photographs, digital imagery, and complex art installations that reflect on a vibrant and enduring Indigenous culture. His work also reflects on some of the personal trauma surrounding Indigenous life of discrimination, extreme neglect, abuse, and homelessness.

Anthony Melting Tallow

Anthony Melting Tallow has called Chicopee his home since 2005 and is a proud member of the Siksikaitsitapi Blackfoot Nation, a proud Two Spirit, Aya’kii’kas’si (Walks A Journey Between), visual artist, public speaker, Indigenous social justice advocate, and land/water defender.

The exhibition and associated events are supported in part by the School of Liberal and Professional Studies (LAPS) and the Fine Arts (A.A.) program.

November 28 through Saturday, December 9, 2023

The Amy H. Carberry Fine Arts Gallery at Springfield Technical Community College proudly presents the fall Student Fine Arts Exhibition on view from Tuesday, November 28 through Saturday, December 9, 2023. 

• November 28 - December 9, 2023: Fall Student Fine Arts Exhibition on view in Amy H. Carberry Fine Arts Gallery
• A closing celebration and reception will be held on Saturday, December 9, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. 

Each semester the Fine Arts program faculty at STCC select work to showcase their students' finest work. From studio paintings, charcoal drawings, traditional gelatin silver photographs, and many other outstanding design projects, all artwork represents the culmination of a semester’s work. This show is not just a representation of “art majors.” 

On the contrary, regardless of major or career goals, most fine arts courses do not require any pre-requisite, and no art experience is required to register for a fine arts course. So, all the artwork shown is from many students in many different majors at the college.

More information about the Fine Arts program

February 1 - 28, 2023

The Amy H. Carberry Fine Arts Gallery at Springfield Technical Community College presents the never-before-seen exhibition “I Just Wanna Surf” by California photographer Gabriella Angotti-Jones throughout February 2023, in celebration of Black History Month.

• February 1 - 28, 2023, Gallery open with I Just Wanna Surf, Text and photographs by Gabriella Angotti-Jones
• February 19, 2023, Carberry Conversations interview with Gabriella Angotti-Jones (YouTube)

"I Just Wanna Surf"

Throughout this immersive exhibition of text, images, and home videos, Angotti-Jones, who grew up in one of the only mixed-race Black families in a small Orange County beach town, reflects on how her early relationship with the ocean and Californian surf culture became intertwined with her identity as a Black woman. 

Her work challenges the traditional surfing narrative by documenting Black women and non-binary surfers living the surfing lifestyle inspired by 1990s and early 2000s surf culture.

“I wish I had someone to guide me through the intricacies of this parallel world,” Angotti-Jones states on the walls of the gallery. 

Through text and images, Angotti-Jones captures the friction of finding one’s identity and community during the pandemic and post-George Floyd era in a sport dominated by white men.

Her recent book of the same title, “I Just Wanna Surf,” published by Mass Books in October 2022, was shortlisted for the Aperture Paris Book Award and received rave reviews on CNN, Vogue, Los Angeles Times, Photodok Bookclub, Conscientious Photography Magazine (Jörg Colberg Review), Redbull, and Dazed.

With 19 photographs on display at STCC, printed locally by Jim Gipe of Pivot Media and text from the book affixed to the walls, Angotti-Jones juxtaposes the joy of friendship and the refuge found in the ocean’s wilderness with the underlying racial tensions at the core of the Black American experience.

“I remember standing up on a board for the very first time when I was little. I remember feeling a woosh. I stood up. It felt like I was sliding. It was a very small wave. The person who pushed me into the wave was cheering. I want to get good at this. I want to be on a shortboard. I wanna rip!!” Angotti-Jones writes.

With sensitivity and vulnerability, her text and images explore her experience with depression and the sense of peace brought by riding waves. “I Just Wanna Surf” is a joyous, raw, complex, and unique expansion of the visual history of the Black American experience and its place in a rapidly changing American surf community.

Gabriella Angotti-Jones

Gabriella Angotti-Jones is a freelance documentary photographer based in Los Angeles. One of Artsy’s “emerging photojournalists to watch,” Angotti-Jones uses her editorial background to inform her imagery, focusing on found light, intimate storytelling moments, and graphic compositions.

Her documentary work focuses on the intersection of race, identity, and environmental justice. She was previously a staff photographer at the Los Angeles Times and has worked at papers across the country, including the San Francisco Chronicle, Tampa Bay Times, Las Vegas Review-Journal, and The New York Times.

• Gabriella Angotti-Jones Artist Website

This exhibition was designed by gallery coordinator and associate professor Sondra Peron, with curatorial assistance from gallery work-study STCC students, Eddie Diaz, Enaya Ogletree, and D’Khari Smith.

The exhibition and associated events are supported in part by the School of Liberal and Professional Studies (LAPS) and the Fine Arts (A.A.) program.

The Amy H. Carberry Fine Arts Gallery at Springfield Technical Community College proudly presents for Women’s History Month, a 40-year career retrospective of Western Massachusetts artist Dara Herman Zierlein on view March 7 through April 14, 2023. 

• March 7 - April 14, 2023 "A 40-year Retrospective of Political Art" on view in Amy H. Carberry Fine Arts Gallery
• March 21, 2023, 12:15 - 1:00 p.m. Live via Zoom Carberry Conversations interview with Dara Herman-Zierlein (YouTube)
• April 1, 12:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m., In-person reception with Dara Herman-Zierlein

"A 40-year Retrospective of Political Art"

What does a 40-year career in the pursuit of art look like? Come see this comprehensive exhibition of over 130 watercolor paintings, figurative drawings and sculptures by political artist and activist Dara Herman Zierlein. Born in Brooklyn and raised in Manhattan, Herman Zierlein remembers walking through the Metropolitan Museum of Art after school, getting lost in the art galleries and sculpture gardens and daydreaming of being an artist. Once told early in her artistic career “good thing you’re a sculptor—you’ll never paint,” Herman Zierlein went on to create Motherstime, introducing audiences to illustrations exploring the politics found in motherhood, an underrepresented, and often misunderstood subject in art.

From the perils of breastfeeding and post-partum depression to global warming and the consequences of plastic pollution, since the late 80s Herman Zierlein has written books, been on panel discussions, presented lectures, and exhibited her artwork internationally. A longtime resident of the Pioneer Valley, Herman Zierlein has created political paintings and illustrations for publications, including The Rumpus, Demeter Press, and The Nation magazine, among many. Her children's book, 'Don't Eat the Plastic,’ published with her husband and fellow artist, Peter Zierlein, focuses on the consequences of plastic pollution on our environment.

Dara Herman Zierlein

With her BFA in sculpture from Pratt Institute and a Master’s in Education from Columbia University, Herman Zierlein taught grades K-5 for over 28 years before retiring from the classroom. But her artwork continues to remind viewers of the importance of activism in art across generations.

• Dara Herman Zierlein Artist Website

The Amy H. Carberry Gallery

The Amy H. Carberry Fine Arts Gallery, located on the campus of STCC in B28, is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.; Wednesday 11 a.m. - 6  p.m., and Saturday 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

The gallery and all events are free and open to the public.

This exhibition and associated events are supported in part by the School of Liberal and Professional Studies (LAPS) and the Fine Arts (A.A.) program.

• April 25 - May 5, 2023, STCC Student Art Work: Spring Showcase on view in Amy H. Carberry Fine Arts Gallery
• April 26, 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m., in-person reception

Each year, the Annual Student Spring Exhibition invites the Fine Arts faculty to select work to showcase their students' finest portfolios. From colorful paintings to intricate prints, charcoal drawings to traditional gelatin silver photographs, and many other outstanding design projects, all artwork represents the culmination of a semester’s work in the Fine Arts Department at STCC.

October 4 - November 10, 2022

The Amy H. Carberry Fine Arts Gallery at Springfield Technical Community College proudly presents the exhibition, “Murcan Tales,” by Baltimore artist Kumasi J. Barnett, on view from October 4 through November 10, 2022. Barnett will be on campus Oct 13-14 for in-person events, including meet and greet reception, student engagement activities, and Carberry Conversations interview.

• Oct. 4 - Nov. 10: Exhibition, “Murcan Tales,” on view in Amy H. Carberry Fine Arts Gallery
• Oct., 13, 10:30 a.m. - 12 p.m.: In-person artist/Meet & Greet/Talk
• Oct. 14, 12:15 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.: Virtual/Carberry Conversations, Interview with Kumasi J. Barnet and Special Guests MILE Peer Mentors and Students

Influenced by the aesthetics and narratives of comic books, Baltimore artist Kumasi J. Barnett’s artwork subverts and imbues the often-timeless genre with historical context and a present-day social consciousness. Beloved superheroes like “The Hulk” and “The Amazing Spider-Man” are transformed into “The Media’s Thug” and “The Amazing Black-Man.”

The classic Spider-Man red and blue suit is replaced by an all-new, equally iconic dark-skinned superhero with a gray hoodie, “The Amazing Black-Man,” who is battling the police portrayed as supernatural villains and his superpower is staying alive. Barnett's practice as a whole confronts issues of police brutality and systemic racism. 

He meticulously paints directly over old copies of comic books, changing their narratives into reflections on contemporary events and the media’s portrayal of those events, and searing, sometimes painful, critiques of real social and political issues, including racism, fake news, and political corruption.

A proud community college graduate of Dundalk Community College, Barnett went on to receive two bachelor’s degrees from the University of Maryland; one in art history and archeology and a second in studio art, before receiving his M.F.A. in painting and drawing from The Ohio State University. Barnett’s works have been exhibited both in the United States and abroad, including exhibitions at Lowell Ryan Projects, Los Angeles, CA; The Peale, Baltimore, MD; the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town, South Africa; The Boca Raton Museum of Art, Boca Raton, FL; The Verge Center for the Arts, Sacramento, CA; BravinLee programs, New York, NY; and The Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn, NY.

Barnett presented a solo booth with Lowell Ryan Projects at The Armory Show 2020, in the Focus section curated by Jamillah James. Barnett currently teaches at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and his work has been featured in Artforum, Ammo, Vibe, Hyperallergic, Huffington Post, Autre, Artnet News, and The Guardian, among others. 

Kumasi J. Barnett is represented by L.A. gallery Lowell Ryan Projects.

• Kumasi J. Barnett Artist Website

Carberry Conversations, Friday, October 14, 12:15 p.m. with a virtual conversation held in the gallery between associate professor and gallery coordinator Sondra Peron and exhibiting artist Kumasi J. Barnett. All Carberry Conversations are free and open to the public via Zoom. Please register in advance.

September 6 - 30, 2022

The Amy H. Carberry Fine Arts Gallery at Springfield Technical Community College presents the exhibition, “Abstracted,” by Canadian-born artist L.G. Talbot, on view from Sept 6 through Sept 30, 2022.

Considered a “distillation of lived experience,” Talbot’s canvases explore a bold color palette and thickly textured compositions of pure abstraction. Originally trained as a ceramicist, these recent paintings from 2021 and 2022 represent a shift in practice due in part to the pandemic. Prior Talbot sketched compositions with charcoal, then erased and drew directly on the canvas again with thick black oil bars to demarcate borders. Now, working exclusively with palette knives, she establishes color fields more quickly and builds up layers of paint in more muted, earth tones. Consequently, physical engagement with materials and an elegant economy in composition have become signature aspects of Talbot’s larger-than-life-sized oil paintings that now define her practice.

L.G. Talbot holds a master’s degree from Lesley College, Boston, MA, and a B.F.A. at the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, T.N. She attended the Penland School of Craft, Bakersville, NC, studying under Robert Turner, and the Appalachian Center for Craft at Tennessee Tech University, Smithville, TN. Her work has been exhibited in numerous solo exhibitions, including the Five Points Gallery in Torrington, CT, and at Hampden Gallery at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, as well as group exhibitions throughout New England.

• L.G. Talbot Artist Website

Carberry Conversations, presented by Springfield Technical Community College’s Amy H. Carberry Fine Arts Gallery, continues on Friday, September 9, at 12:15 p.m. with a virtual conversation between associate professor and gallery coordinator Sondra Peron and exhibiting artist L.G. Talbot. All Carberry Conversations are free and open to the public via Zoom. A registration link will be posted here.

Gallery open to the public with a reception for the artist: Sat., April 30, 12-4 p.m.

Open Hours: Mon., May 2, and Tue., May 3, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Wed., May 4, noon to 3 p.m.; Thur., May 5, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Fri., May 6, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Time and space can be two important elements to a visual artist who wants to experiment and create innovative work. Donnabelle Casis, whose artwork was first installed at the Carberry Gallery in March 2020 only to close after two days due to the pandemic, is a Filipina-American artist living and working in Western Massachusetts. Throughout the month of April, she has been creating new 3D mobile artwork in the space that will be on view on April 30 and May 2-6, 2022.

• April 26, 2022 Donnabelle Casis Carberry Conversation

Trained as a painter, she expanded on her mastery of two-dimensional artwork to include large 3-dimensional artwork. Her current paintings explore the relationship of personal identity to visual systems of signification in both ancient and modern cultures. She draws from various sources such as Filipino tribal tattoos and textiles, facial recognition software, cosmology, and the philosophy of metaphysics, among others.

“I am fascinated by visual perception and how meaning is derived from what we see. I look for hidden geometries that may connect discrete perspectives to form a greater whole,” -Donnabelle Casis

Filipino tribal imagery is tied to storytelling, marks of accomplishment, and societal roles. Facial recognition software maps physical characteristics which determine one’s visual identity.

• Donnabelle Casis Artist Website

The Amy H. Carberry Fine Arts Gallery at Springfield Technical Community College presents, “The Covid Series,” by STCC art faculty Paul Bloomfield.

From March 7 through March 31 at the gallery in B28, a series of paintings started in the early weeks of Covid-19 to the present day will be on view. Due to the ongoing concerns about Covid, the gallery will be open by appointment only at this time. Face masks are required.

Carberry Conversations, presented by Springfield Technical Community College’s Amy H. Carberry Fine Arts Gallery, continues on Monday, March 21st from 11 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. with a virtual conversation between associate professor and gallery coordinator Sondra Peron and STCC art faculty and exhibiting artist Paul Bloomfield. 

• March 21, 2022 Paul Bloomfield Carberry Conversation

Bloomfield masterfully chooses colors, gestures, and patterns that not only reflect his personal struggle in the face of incomprehensible pain and loss, but the series allows the viewer an opportunity to reflect on the reality of our collective pain and suffering caused by Covid-19. The somewhat disturbing imagery of lungs and droplets build from painting to painting, reflecting the fear and the struggle many people felt throughout much of the past two years. Despite the rawness found in some of the images, there are glimmers of hope.

Paul Bloomfield holds a master’s degree in art history from Boston University, where he focused on contemporary printmaking and selected works of the late master printmaker Michel Mazur for the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. His undergraduate studies in Fine Arts at the University College of Wales (UK) helped direct his interest in painting, printmaking, and photography, and he continues working in these media. He has exhibited his photography throughout Massachusetts, including Gallery Kayafas, Boston, and the D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield. While teaching advanced and introductory studio and photography courses, he has published articles and reviews in Art New England, New England Concert Review, and Jazz Times. He is currently a regular contributor to Glide Magazine, a music and culture magazine. Bloomfield serves as Chair of the Fine & Performing Arts Department and school photographer and Tai Chi instructor at Wilbraham Munson Academy and is on the art faculty at STCC.

• Paul Bloomfield Artist Website
• Featured on WGBY’s Connecting Point, April 28, 2022

The Amy H. Carberry Fine Arts Gallery presents new collages by Keith Hollingworth entitled “40 Black Writers.” The series started in 2012 and features Sonia Sanchez, Alain Locke, Edwidge Danticat, Ntozake Shange, and James Baldwin, among many other Black writers whose wide range of thought, ideas, and feelings are illustrated with portraits, stamps, and book art. This exhibition will be on view through December 7, 2021. A virtual tour with no audio is available on YouTube.

• YouTube Virtual Tour

Carberry Conversations, presented by Springfield Technical Community College’s Amy H. Carberry Fine Arts Gallery, continues Friday, October 29th from 12 p.m. to 12:45 p.m. with a virtual conversation between associate professor and gallery coordinator Sondra Peron and retired professor and visual artist Keith Hollingworth. Hollingworth exhibited “54 African Americans” and “Homage to Art” at the Amy H. Carberry Fine Arts Gallery in October 2017, and his collage work, “40 Black Writers,” is currently on view at the STCC campus gallery.

• 10/29/21 Carberry Conversation

Keith Hollingworth graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in 1959. After serving in the U.S. Army for 2 years, he attended Mills College in Oakland, California, receiving his M.F.A. in 1964. He taught for a year in Ohio and then became a member of the Art Department at UMass in Amherst. In 1967 he moved to New York to establish himself as an artist. He exhibited in the Paula Cooper Gallery. In 1974 he moved from the city to Western Massachusetts and began teaching as an Adjunct at HCC, GCC, Mount Wachusett Community College and Westfield State University (WSU). He eventually became tenured at WSU and retired in 2019. He was a founding member of Gallery A3, a cooperative gallery located in Amherst.

• Keith Hollingworth Artist Website

Kiayani Douglas—Fallacies of a Black Identity Enthusiast
Exhibition on view from Tuesday, February 4 through Saturday, February 29, 2020

Saturday, February 8: Evening Celebration for Artist, 6 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Wednesday, February 12: Wearable Art Workshop with Kiayani Douglas, 10 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Thursday, February 27, Special Artist Talk held at The Forum, B19, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Co-sponsored by Multicultural Affairs and Vonetta Lightfoot

Artist Statement

I am a Black Identity Enthusiast. I use multiple disciplines to express my idea as about Afro-futurism through buried narratives of the African Diaspora in America. I create call to actions and immersive pieces to force people to have conversations rooted in race, history, and privilege. I make paintings, sculptures, and videos as calls to action about African-American Diaspora narratives. 

I make art as a way to cope with the social injustices that are happening in America. I have always been a maker of many things, but my love for portraits and the body have always shown through in all the mediums I manage. My interest in non-traditional drawing has allowed me to think about how we interact with two-dimensional pieces. My love for sculpture has allowed me the ability to expand my two-dimensional works and create forms to further express my conceptual thinking. 

I am a maker of many things, including the creation of a 10-part mini-series called “Black Identity Enthusiast.” This body of work is heavily influenced by Huey P. Newton’s 10-point program and his advocacy for the community. I use this information to challenge the dominant cultural narratives that are seen on social media, news, and public outlets. I challenge people’s perceptions of what it means to be black. I make work to use as educational tools that allow individuals to gain a different perspective of blackness within a brave place. 

Official Kiayani Douglas website

Bio

Kiayani Douglas has spent the last three years developing an interdisciplinary body of work called Black Identity Enthusiast. B.I.E. is a body of work geared towards curating conversations rooted in race history and privilege. She uses the Black Panthers Party for Self-defense 10-point program to critique and make visual connections to social injustices that have plagued African Americans during the Diaspora. Her talents as an educator and an artist come together effortlessly to build much needed conversations in brave places. She creates workshops where students of all disciplines can learn about American Black History, while making connections to Math, Science, History, and literature. Her desire to make these spaces stems from her not having them herself. Born and raised in Hartford, CT, Douglas has a deep passion for advancing her community, culturally, economically and intellectually. She is a recent graduate of the University of Hartford in 2018 with her MFA in Interdisciplinary Art. She also holds her BFA in ceramics with a double minor in painting and psychology, also from the University of Hartford.

Donnabelle Casis--inkling

Artist Donnabelle Casis gave us a "virtual tour" of her Spring exhibit, "inkling," for us all to enjoy while the campus is engaged in remote learning.

Artist Statement

My paintings explore the relationship of personal identity and ritual to visual systems of signification in both ancient and modern cultures. Through the use of patterns and geometry, I reassemble disparate and discrete iconographic sources into unified compositions as an analog of cultural hybridity. Large and small, intimate and vast, they are part of an expansive framework of disperse elements. Filipino tribal tattoos and textiles, trajes de luces (suits of light) or bullfighting costumes, and facial recognition software, inform my aesthetic decisions. Filipino tribal imagery is tied to storytelling, marks of accomplishment, and societal roles. Spanish bullfighting costume colors and embellishments have deep ties to familial history and status. Facial recognition software maps physical characteristics which determine one’s visual identity. I filter these and other images to create my own configurations rich in a variety of interpretations.

Official Donnabelle Casis website

Bio

Donnabelle Casis is a Filipina-American artist living and working in Florence, MA. She earned a BFA in Painting from the University of Connecticut and an MFA in Painting at the University of Washington. Her work has been included in group and solo exhibitions at Platform Gallery, ChaShaMa Chelsea, LABspace, Readywipe, Geoffrey Young Gallery, Carroll and Sons Gallery, Andrew Edlin Gallery, Howard House Contemporary Art, Elizabeth Leach Gallery, Historic Northampton Museum, Hampden Gallery at the University of Massachusetts, Wing Luke Asian Museum, Tacoma Art Museum, Bellevue Art Museum and Center for Contemporary Art (CoCA), among others. She received numerous awards and grants including the Neddy Artist Fellowship for painting granted by the Behnke Foundation, a New Works Laboratory residency from 911 Media Arts Center in Seattle, an Artist Trust Gap Grant, and Northampton Arts Council Grants, Massachusetts Cultural Council grants. Her work is included in several public and private collections.

STCC Student Art Work: Spring Showcase

Each year, the Annual Student Spring Exhibition invites the Fine Arts faculty to select work to showcase their students' finest portfolios. From colorful paintings to intricate prints, charcoal drawings to traditional gelatin silver photographs, and many other outstanding design projects, all artwork represents the culmination of a semester’s work in the Fine Arts Department at STCC.

THEM: Images of Separation from the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia: Using objects of intolerance to teach tolerance and promote social justice.
Wednesday, September 11, 2019 - Saturday, October 5, 2019
Special Lecture by Dr. David Pilgrim, Monday, Sept 23, 11:15 a.m., Scibelli Hall

Meet and Greet Reception with Dr. David Pilgrim: Monday, Sept 23, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

“THEM: Images of Separation,” a traveling exhibition of six three-dimensional and 32 framed pieces from the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia, showcases negative imagery found on postcards, license plates, games, souvenirs, and costumes has promoted stereotyping against such groups as African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Hispanics, Jews, and poor whites, as well as those who are "other" in terms of body type or sexual orientation. These items from popular culture have been used to stereotype groups of people and tackle some of the most contentious, hot-button cultural issues: anti-Arab sentiment, Holocaust denial, "don't ask, don't tell" and immigration.

More information about "THEM: Images of Separation" can be found at the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia website.

Eric Pelka: 90s NYC to Rural Western Massachusetts
Tuesday, October 15, 2019, through Saturday, November 9, 2019

Eric Pelka’s career as a painter spans a twenty-five-year period of artwork showcasing two and a half decades living in New York City followed by three years in rural isolation located in the foothills of the Berkshires and Pioneer Valley. Combining an exposition of paintings, large works on craft paper and illustrative drawings, Pelka exposes the viewer into a unique and immersive experience showcasing the juxtapositions between urban life and nature; the discord and harmony they both engender. Representation of these dichotomies is exaggerated by the artwork that appears to be “hung out to dry,” a facetious allusion to betrayal—especially by someone who expects assistance and protection. The art shows natural wear through time; the wisdom from the natural world versus the manufactured, the man-made.

To see more of Eric's work visit the Eric Pelka website.

"The Well Wishers Day Off"
2008
30 x 40 inches
acrylic and oil on canvas

STCC Student Art Work: Fall Showcase
Tuesday, November 26, 2019-Saturday, December 7, 2019

Student Reception: Tuesday, December 3, 2019, 10-11:30 a.m.

Each year, the Annual Student Fall Exhibition invites the Fine Arts faculty to select work to showcase their students' finest portfolios. From colorful paintings to intricate prints, charcoal drawings to traditional gelatin silver photographs, and many other outstanding design projects, all artwork represents the culmination of a semester’s work in the Fine Arts Department at STCC.

Philadelphia artist Brian Gaither, Paintings
In collaboration with Multicultural Affairs
Friday, February 1, 2019, through Thursday, February 28, 2019
Artist Talk Via Skype from China: TBA

In celebration of Black History Month, the gallery presents Gaither’s recent large-scale monochrome paintings critiquing the hierarchies within society and how those hierarchies uphold social relations that perpetuate injustices. Issues of police brutality, the killing of unarmed African Americans, and other iconic figures confront the viewer.

Gaither, a Penn State School of Visual Arts MFA graduate, has been awarded the prestigious 2016 Civil Society Institute Fellowship Award from the Vermont Studio Center, a four-week residency program for visual artists. His painting, "Accountability," was shown at the African American Museum in Philadelphia in an exhibition called "Outcry!," which addressed the killing of unarmed African Americans. Another of Gaither's paintings, "Allegory of Justice," was accepted by the Wiseman Gallery at Rogue Community College in Grants Pass, Oregon, for its November exhibit, "Exercising Authority: Racial Minorities in the American Legal System." http://bdgaither.net

Sandra Matthews--Photography
Tuesday, March 5, 2019, through Saturday, April 6, 2019
“Meet and Greet” Reception: Tuesday, April 6, 2019

Sandra Matthews, associate professor emerita of film and photography, is a graduate of Harvard University (B.A.) and the State University of New York at Buffalo (M.F.A.). Her photographic work is represented in collections including the Smith College Art Museum; the Henry Art Gallery, Seattle; the Block Museum of Art, Chicago; the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University; the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; and the Women In Photography International Archive at Yale University. Matthews is co-author, with Laura Wexler, of Pregnant Pictures (Routledge, 2000), a cultural history of photographs of pregnant women in the U.S. In 2010 she founded, and currently edits, the Trans-Asia Photography Review (tapreview.org), an online scholarly journal published by Hampshire College and devoted to the discussion of historical and contemporary photography from East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.

http://www.sandra-matthews.com

STCC Student Art Work: Spring Showcase
Tuesday, April 23, 2019, through Saturday, May 4, 2019
Student Artists’ Reception: Thursday, April 26, 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 p.m.

Each year, the Annual Student Spring Exhibition invites the Fine Arts faculty to select work to showcase their students' finest portfolios. From colorful paintings to intricate prints, charcoal drawings to traditional gelatin silver photographs, and many other outstanding design projects, all artwork represents the culmination of a semester’s work in the Fine Arts Department at STCC.

Fafnir Adamites - Insight That Accrues - Sculpture
Tuesday, September 4, 2018 - Saturday, September 29, 2018
Artist Reception: Wednesday, September 19, 11:30 - 1 p.m.

"This program is supported in part by a grant from the Springfield Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency."

Adamites holds an MFA degree from the Fiber and Material Studies Department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a BA in Photography and Women’s Studies from UMass Amherst. She teaches at Snow Farm: The New England Craft Program, UMass Amherst, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and at The Academy at Charlemont. She lives in Turners Falls, MA. Using felt making and other traditional craft processes, Adamites creates sculptural and installation works that serve as meditations on trauma, memory and the legacy of emotional turmoil inherited from past generations. Using repetitious processes such as felt making allows the artist to physically engage with and meditate on the concepts she is working with. Material exploration is the starting point for all of her work and plays a key role in building the conceptual backing of each piece.  http://fafniradamites.com/

BIG INK--Large-scale Printmaking
Tuesday, October 9, 2018, through Friday, November 9, 2018

BIG INK is an organized network of creative thinkers focused on promoting the art of large-scale woodblock printing. The program was started in 2012 by directors Lyell Castonguay and Carand Burnet as a way to spread their passion for the medium with other artists and the general public. BIG INK works by establishing a temporary print shop on-site at partnership organizations, most often at museums, universities, art centers, studios, and galleries. Artists are selected, either by personal invitation or through a call-for-entry process, to attend these events and print original woodblocks at least 24” x 36” in dimension. Since the program’s inception, hundreds of artists have participated in BIG INK events across the country.  https://www.bigink.org/

STCC Student Art Work:  Fall Showcase
Tuesday, December 4, 2018 - Friday, December 14, 2018 
Student Reception: Tuesday, December 4, 2018, 10 - 11:30 a.m.

Each year, the Annual Student Fall Exhibition invites the Fine Arts faculty to select work to showcase their students' finest portfolios. From colorful paintings to intricate prints, charcoal drawings to tradition gelatin silver photographs, and many other outstanding design projects, all artwork represents the culmination of a semester’s work in the Fine Arts Department at STCC.

Philadelphia fiber artist Dindga McCannon
“Legacy”
Thursday, February 1 through Wednesday, February 28, 2018
“Meet and Greet” Reception: Thursday, Feb 22, 10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

This exhibition is made possible with financial support from the Springfield Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency; Vonetta Lightfoot and the office of Multicultural Affairs; and Anne Bonemery, Dean of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. Special thanks to co-curator Rosemary Woods of Art for the Soul Gallery.

In celebration of Black History Month, the gallery presents McCannon’s elaborate and colorful quilt designs highlighting the many women of color who have made significant contributions to the history of African Americans. Examples from this exhibition entitled, “Legacy,” include the 1930’s trumpeter Valaida Snow to master dancer and choreographer of the 50’s and 60’s Lavinia Williams to the great Maya Angelou, writer, poet, and civil rights activist. All quilts are made of wool and fiber that has been felted, hand-embroidered and beaded into intricate quilt designs.

http://art-alive.com/dindga

Sean Greene
New Work/Solo Exhibition
Tuesday, March 6 through Saturday, April 7, 2018
“Meet and Greet” Reception: Thursday, March 22, 10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

Florence artist Sean Greene has been exhibiting frequently in the U.S. in galleries such as the Brian Morris Gallery in New York, and William Baczek Fine Arts and Geoffrey Young Gallery in Massachusetts, the Artisphere in Arlington, Virginia, and New Image Art in West Hollywood, among others. He received grants from the Somerville and Northampton Arts Councils, the Artists Resource Trust and recently has been awarded a Massachusetts Cultural Council Fellowship. His work is in private collections in the U.S., the U.K., Australia, and France, as well as the corporate collection of Neiman Marcus, and the University Museum of Contemporary Art in Amherst.

https://www.seangreene.org

STCC Student Art Work: Spring Showcase
Tuesday, April 24 through Saturday, May 5, 2018
Student Artists’ Reception: Thursday, April 26, 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 p.m.

Each year, the Annual Student Spring Exhibition invites the Fine Arts faculty to select work to showcase their students' finest portfolios. From colorful paintings to intricate prints, charcoal drawings to tradition gelatin silver photographs, and many other outstanding design projects, all artwork represents the culmination of a semester’s work in the Fine Arts Department at STCC.

Keith Hollingworth
Homage to Art/54 African Americans
Tuesday, October 17, 2017, through Friday, November 9, 2017
Artist Talk and Reception: Tuesday, October 31, 10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

Amherst artist Keith Hollingworth’s two series of collages, 54 African Americans and Homage to Art will be on view through Thursday, November 9. A “meet and greet” reception for the artist will be on Tuesday, October 31, 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Since graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design in the 1960s, art has been and continues to be at the cornerstone of Hollingworth’s life. In one series on view at the Carberry Gallery, Homage to Art, he credits the many artists in the history of art with over 120 separate canvases devoted to each artist, their style of art, and a replica of their signature. The focus of the series is a recognition that many artists have served as great teachers, whether giving the viewer ideas or simply the concept of commitment, the history of art is has inspired us all.

For the past three years, Keith Hollingworth has been working on this large series of collages of African Americans. Utilizing The New York Times photographer Bill Cunningham’s Sunday fashion page. The 54 collages are hung one against the other in a giant grid, giving the sense of a continuum, much like a mural. Hollingworth has stated that his intent is to show that African Americans are both part of and apart from American society and that many barriers have been broken.

Hollingworth is currently a professor of art at Westfield State College.

More of Hollingworth’s artwork can be viewed on his website:  http://wwwkeithhollingworth.com

Joanne Holtje
Recent Work: Paintings and Works on Paper
Tuesday, September 12, 2017-Friday, October 6, 2017
Artist Reception: Tuesday, Sept 26, 10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Special Master Class/Studio Visit: Saturday, Sept 23

This collection of paintings and works on paper by Belchertown artist Joanne Holtje, produced over the past five years, exemplifies a wide range of media, content, and scale by the artist.  Holtje’s work celebrates the physicality of paint, with an exuberant use of color and expressive mark-making. Her paintings frequently reference the landscape, some more literally than others at times, which she credits to a youth spent wandering in the woods and fields, along rivers and lakes, drinking in the full sensory experience of being in and of the natural world. She received her BA from Tufts University, and since 2006, she has exhibited in local, regional and national shows including the Massachusetts Artists Biennial, The Fitchburg Art Museum, and the Danforth Museum. Holtje has been a member of Oxbow Gallery, Northampton since 2014 and her work appears in the book, Creating Abstract Art by Dean Nimmer. http://www.joanneholtje.com

Whether an artist attempts to affect social change, express a personal thought or feeling, or tell a story, the creative work found in this exhibit exemplifies the diversity found in all the many creators presented. In honor of STCC’s 50th anniversary, the Amy H. Carberry Fine Arts Gallery celebrates the creative spirit found in the people who work here at STCC, where we are all creative.

Art is universal. Art is everywhere. We are all artists, and we are all creative. This belief is at the foundation of this unique exhibition. The criteria for STCC Creates is purposefully open and inclusive: any faculty or staff, whether professional artist or amateur, was invited to submit artwork in any medium.

I want to especially thank all the individuals listed below whose work you see in this gallery exhibition for sharing their creative work. In some cases, the artwork is very personal and was not originally intended for public display, while other work has been exhibited in galleries around the globe. Their willingness to share their artwork in this forum made this unique exhibit possible. Thank you.

• Kathleen Andrews, Professor of English, School of Arts, Humanities, and Social Science,
  Poems and Calligraphy
• Kris Kozuch, Director, Disability Services,
  Digital Photography
• William Garvey, Coordinator of SIMS Medical, Health, and Patient Simulation
  Celtic-themed Mosaic Wall Hangings
• Alexis Greenblatt, Literary Specialist, Adult Basic Education
  Handmade Greeting Cards
• Mary Moriarty-Copeland, Staff Assistant to Dean, Student Affairs Office
  Quilting
• Mayre Sullivan, Technical Services Assistant, Library
  Needlework
• Roberta Albano, Professor, Dental Assistant
  Paintings
• Joan Nadaeu, Senior Director, Human Resources & Employee Benefits and Operations Center
  Quilting
• William Halloran, Assistant Professor, Energy Systems, School of Engineering Technologies, and Math
  Wildcat O'Halloran Band Live at the Zorba Room
• Theresa Berard, Adjunct Professor, World Languages/Italian, School of Arts, Humanities, and Social Science
  Photography
• Sondra Peron, Adjunct Professor of Photography; Gallery Coordinator, School of Arts, Humanities, and Social Science
  Photography
• Susan Barocas, Adjunct Professor, School of Engineering Technologies, and Math
  Paintings
• Frances Riddle, Assistant Professor of Art & Dept Chair, School of Arts, Humanities, and Social Science
  Mixed Media Contour Drawing
• David Hosmer, Adjunct Professor of Civil Engineering, School of Engineering Technologies, and Math
  Digital Photography
• Robert Dickerman, Dean, School of Engineering Technologies, and Math
  Wood Furniture
• Susan Dion, Professional Tutor, Student Success Center
  Paintings and Mixed Media Drawings
• Sandra Howell, Adjunct Professor, School of Arts, Humanities, and Social Science
  Literature
• Jaime Herrick, Chemical Hygiene Officer, Police Department
  Press Flower Designs
• Anne Bonemery, Dean, School of Arts, Humanities, and Social Science
  Painted Glassware and Wood
• Jesse Connor, Adjunct Professor, Fine Art, School of Arts, Humanities, and Social Science
  Painting

Springfield-born Marlon Seymour, also known as $3YM@UR, will be the featured solo artist during a special black history month exhibition entitled, “Gentrification,” at STCC’s Amy H. Carberry Fine Arts, located in B28.

The exhibit will run through Friday, Feb. 24, with three special events: a reception for the STCC community scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 16 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and a special master class for fine arts students on February 21, and an evening reception and closing celebration on Thursday, Feb. 23 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Everyone is welcome to attend and meet the artist.

“Gentrification,” highlights $3YM@UR’s diversity of artistic exploration with 12 very large, colorful paintings made up of richly abundant saturated colors and vivid faces. Growing up in poverty, Seymour had little resources for fun between caring for his siblings and helping around the house. Originating as a hobby, and inspired by life’s lessons, painting was a way of escaping from the stress of everyday life.

Born Marlon Seymour in Springfield, MA in 1978, he lost his mother at an early age and was adopted by his aunt. In 9th grade, he began hanging out in the streets. Seymour managed to refrain from a stereotypical lifestyle of a black man growing up in a bad environment by turning to music and painting. Today, a devoted father and abstract artist, Seymour is a man obsessed with his work and fixated by art. Self-taught and still unveiling his true potential, he has painted over 700 works of art.

SPECIAL THANKS to Vonetta Lightfoot of Multicultural Affairs and the Black Professional Group of STCC); Rosemary Tracy Woods of the Art of the Soul Gallery in Springfield; and STCC’s School of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences for all their support for the arts at STCC.