By Jackie Lupo
Through June 13, the Hastings Village Hall Gallery will be the setting for the 2022 RiverArts Senior Award Winners show, which opened on May 16.
For the first time, RiverArts and the Hastings Village Arts Commission are co-producing this student show, which was previously held at various Rivertowns locations on the same weekend as the RiverArts Studio Tour. Last year’s studio tour was held in October, and no date has been announced for 2022.
The move to village hall is designed to allow art lovers more time to view the students’ work than they had during the weekend of the Studio Tour.
The six seniors were each nominated for the award by their art teachers. They are showing several works each. They represent five Rivertowns public school districts (including two students from Dobbs Ferry), and all expressed the wish to pursue arts-related careers.
“That’s kind of the point of our award,” show coordinator Kit Demirdelen said. “We are trying to promote an art career, whether in fine arts, art education, or art therapy.”
Demirdelen, a visual artist, is a member of the Hastings Village Arts Commission and the board of RiverArts. In addition to $200, each winner enjoys the knowledge that they are merit-worthy in the eyes of their teachers.
“One of the things I always tell the students is that when I was a senior in high school, my parents knew that I was ‘artsy’ but didn’t understand the merit of actually studying art in college and having an arts degree,” Demirdelen said. “When I won $100 in our little art competition where I was growing up, it made my parents understand. This may not seem like a big financial boon, but it could really change the course of your life.”
William Chiappetta of Ardsley High School is also a winner of a 2022 Presidents’ Award from the Lower Hudson Region of the Media Arts Teachers Association. His artwork challenges viewers to understand the mysterious narratives suggested in his digital images, whose hybrid human/animal figures have overtones of both art deco and surrealism.
Paola Hernandez of Dobbs Ferry High School focuses on self-exploration in her art, which uses a mixture of materials. Many of her works reference nationality and identity. Hernandez derived inspiration from the iconic Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. “Her work throughout her entire career was consistently about her own suffering, her own pain, and her own life,” she explained. “She got the opportunity to fully discover and express herself in her work.”
Joan Moon of Hastings High School grew up using spare fabric from her seamstress mother’s shop to create dozens of dresses. Her love of visual details as a storytelling technique continued in high school, when she and began an apprenticeship at an art studio in New York City. “The experience has given me a lot of discipline and a good perspective on what it takes to become an artist,” she said.
Luz Ticona Peras of Sleepy Hollow High School is also inspired by surreal art. She is particularly interested in the psychological states of people in stressful or uncomfortable situations. “One of the main reactions I notice among people, no matter what age they are, is dissociation fueled by the need for escapism,” she stated. “I try to use art as a way to interpret the feelings one may feel while dissociating.”
Franka Pessin of Dobbs Ferry High School uses drawing as a means of self-expression and stress reduction. Pessin uses ink and pencil to create stylized, expressive images. Inspired by a fascination with dance as a form of expression, Pessin chose works for this show that focus on emotions and the different ways one can perceive them. “Sometimes feelings are hard to describe,” Pessin noted. “So, reading someone’s body and reactions is important to understanding an individual’s true thoughts.”
Kaitlyn Sollecito of Irvington High School uses her art to express her fears, hopes, dreams, and personal experiences. Her paintings explore symbolism culled from these mental landscapes. These are often dotted with trees, which she said “bring me peace and calm… their resilience, consistency, and perseverance is an endless source of energy for me. I hope to capture this love of trees and nature and inspire others to appreciate the nature around them, too.”
