Saint Xavier University’s Upfall Art Station recently hosted a showing of the creative productions of SXU alums, Bryan Sykes and Kolin Smith, on Friday Sept. 14th.
The exhibition was from 5-9 p.m. at the SXU Upfall Art Station located at 1757 W. 95th St., Beverly, Illinois.
The showing featured new digital drawings by Kolin Smith, and videos with mu
sic from Bryan Sykes. Both are former SXU art and design students who are making new art pieces and music.
Bryan Sykes graduated from SXU in 2013 and is currently making music along with videos for them. One of his videos was featured at the Upfall Art Station for people to watch.
His character in the video struggled with, “both personas of doubt and fear, the two very things that I often give credit to for stopping me from materializing my visions. I seek to symbolically and mentally bury them to become the person I am meant to be. No human can live out the fullness of their life without shedding such negative emotions.”
Another former SXU student, Kolin Smith, who graduated recently this May, also had his artwork on display.
Sykes’ digital drawing series, “Train Often” reflected a dedicated martial artists’ “spirit of discipline”.
When asked how the SXU art program impacted him, Smith replied, “In a positive way. It is what kept me going. The positive people in the art courses encouraged people to stay active. In the art field no matter how talented you are, they don’t let you slack. Hard work costs time and creates skill.”
Smith has been drawing ever since he can remember, and has always been fascinated with comics, art, martial arts, and dancing, which came later. He incorporates all of these factors into his artwork and also incorporates himself in the pictures he does.
“I had a vision I was going to die one day and didn’t know what I wanted to do and then I did. Art was the only thing that made sense as a career,” says Smith.
Sykes and Smith are just two examples of inspiring art and design students from Saint Xavier University.
Graduates from the SXU art and design program now work as art directors, art teachers in high schools and universities, studio photographers and filmmakers, museum and gallery curators, illustrators, and graphic designers in advertising agencies. There are also positions as certified art therapists, and as independent studio artists with professional gallery representation.
Nathan Peck, a digital art professor at Saint Xavier University who runs the Upfall Art Studio, says, “This gallery has a different level of importance to it. It has an aesthetic audience, while students in the class know the assignment and everyone is cheering you on. The aesthetic audience is going to consume it, like it, or hate it because they don’t owe anything to anybody.”
The one rule students have to follow before they can show their art work at the Upfall Art Station is they have to visit it first.
To see more events happening with the Upfall Art Station, students can check the Den periodically.
More upcoming art events include the 5th Annual Beverly Art Walk, taking place on Sunday September 23rd, 12-5 p.m.and Saturday September 29th, 12- 7 p.m. Both days are free.
On the 23rd, there is an artist studio tour. On the 29th, it is the art walk day. The goal of the Beverly Art Walk is to celebrate the arts in the Beverly/Morgan Park community and to showcase the venues and businesses that support the arts.
Kylee Rus
News Reporter
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