The opening night of the fourth annual Artist Salon was held in the Stewart Gallery last Friday, showcasing the work of nine Grinnell College studio art majors.
The Grinnell Area Arts Council’s spring schedule usually focuses on K-12 shows, but Executive Director Monica St. Angelo and her former student intern, Georgia Carbone, noticed a gap — although solo art shows existed in the Smith Gallery, there was no event specifically for studio art majors. In the summer of 2022, the two started planning what would soon be the Annual Artist Salon.
“We just kind of got to talking, and she helped me plan it out,” St. Angelo said. “And we’ve just done it every year since.”
Beyond spotlighting Grinnell studio art majors, it also serves to provide the larger Grinnell community with a more accessible way to interact with students and campus culture, rather than having to walk to Smith Gallery.
“I think that anything that we can do to create a little more connection between campus and town is really beneficial. This just allows community folks to be able to come in and talk to the students,” St. Angelo said. “There aren’t a ton of opportunities to do that.”
The community has responded in kind, as multiple locals have chipped in to help get the Salon off the ground, said St. Angelo.
Behind every piece seen in Stewart Gallery is a meticulous selection process, run by the Arts Center gallery committee and supported by St. Angelo.
The gallery committee consists of local artists who review student applications and select which pieces will be presented in the gallery each spring, with the goal of curating a cohesive exhibit that forms a story rather than focusing only on individual pieces.
“They don’t necessarily take every piece that all the artists submit, because they’re thinking about what diversity they can develop within the exhibit,” said St. Angelo.
Despite the selective nature of the event regarding individual student pieces, St. Angelo noted that they still keep the event as inclusive as possible. “If we can include just about everyone who applies, we try to do that,” St. Angelo added.
The range of mediums for this year’s Salon was especially diverse, as this year featured a large textile piece made by student artist Alina Ihnatesku `26.
“Having something as big as Alina’s quilt, and the textiles, is something that we haven’t had as much of,” said St. Angelo. “It’s really nice to have a big centerpiece in a way.”
For Ihnatesku, being featured in the Salon means far more than having her art displayed in a gallery, but getting the opportunity to spread a message about language and meaning.
“It’s not about aesthetics. It’s not making things pretty. It’s about putting meaning into it and having that ideology drive your work,” said Ihnatesku.
With English being Ihnatesku’s third language, her work primarily centers around text and opposing the idea that art has to articulate your thoughts perfectly.
“I finally found a haven in producing art. I can’t always articulate it clearly, but I can show it to the world,” said Inhatesku.
Her quilt, the largest piece of art featured at the event, consisted of 3,055 pieces of fabric and took over five months to create. It features a dark background with small squares spelling out a message that she wishes for others to see for themselves.
To Ihnatesku, her work being featured in the Salon drove home her point that voice can be beyond language. “I love encouraging people not to see instant meaning in the work, but to literally take a step back,” Ihnatesku said.
Student artist Chloe Kelly `26 said being featured in the Salon marked a milestone in her career as an artist at Grinnell.
“When I first started at Grinnell, I never felt like the art I made had a meaning that I could say without it being seen as weird,” said Kelly. “I can articulate it now in a way that I feel other people can gauge interest in.”
Kelly’s oil paintings featured at the Salon are centered around her own dreams and daydreams and finding a way to articulate the meaning of her art in an unconventional way, even for her.
“Oil painting has been a really great new medium for me… something I’d never explored before, but I was still able to put my own interests into it,” said Kelly.
The pieces also deepened her sense of belonging among her peers. “It’s just really interesting having my work put up with my fellow peers that I’ve worked with my entire time here,” said Kelly. “Being seen by people who are genuinely interested in it and looking at my art in that way is very validating.”
The Artist Salon: Works by Grinnell College Art Majors is on view at the Stewart Gallery from Feb. 13 to March 14.
