Texas State online art exhibit explores struggle between individual inspiration, societal expectation

Eight senior-level Texas State University art students will participate in an online exhibition of their work titled Inner|Other starting May 1 and visible throughout the entire month of May.

Inner|Other will feature a statement from each artist and a curated selection of their related work.

“This show is an exploration of each artist’s personal interpretation of the interaction between a guided internal, and uncontrollable external force,” said Brian Delano, one of the featured artists in the show. “Interpretations of this interaction range from individual inspiration to societal struggle.”

Expanding on this, Delano said hat Inner|Other is an examination of the sources of friction and creation during the last year’s quarantine.

Due to the limitations placed on the artists by the Covid-19 pandemic, all interactions between contributors to this exhibition are taking place virtually.

A sculpture piece by Scott Sherwood

“We've all been struggling with creative and motivational blocks for the last year,” Delano said. “So much of the college experience, especially the art school experience, is having a community of other students to bounce ideas off of and draw inspiration from. Our professors have put in long hours and have been as creative as they can be in putting together courses that simulate the same energy as an art classroom, but a Zoom class on sculpture, or drawing, or painting, etc., can never accurately recreate it.”

The show itself will be an event which exists entirely online. Inner|Other is a story of perseverance in the face of isolation, humanity’s ability to overcome limitations through technologically assisted innovation, and our ever-present drive to create.

Spines Inside by Lily Taylor

Overthink by Lily Taylor

Delano said, “This exhibition is our fledgling attempt at having our work seen by a broader audience. We've been tasked with taking the restrictions placed on us by the pandemic — namely, not being able to show our work in a physical space — and turning them into a situation that may have positive outcomes. The potential of an ‘online gallery space’ is limitless and evolving. Art's future, like so many aspects of our society, is tied to the internet. By placing our work in an online environment, we eliminate the limitations of location and accessibility inherent in a physical exhibition.”

Delano expressed his enthusiasm for the ability to coordinate the exhibit with his fellow art students, despite the particular hardships the past year has presented.

“Putting together this exhibition was, for many of us, a first experience in creating something bigger than our personal visions in a collaborative fashion,” said Delano. “We spend so long in art school learning to hone our ability to project our ego into an artwork that a project like this forces us to draw back a bit and re-learn the art of collaboration and compromise.”

To attend this online exhibit, visit the website at innerother.com/RSVP.