Entering the gallery, the first thing your eyes land on is a larger-than-life black canvas propped in the corner. Thick swabs of rainbow colored acrylic paint — the style of impasto — make up a huge silhouette of a person holding a megaphone. Out spills huge, joyful music notes down and around the canvas, each colored with different pride flags. Against the inky background it has a thrilling visual effect.
“I was working on it the night or two before we put the gallery together,” the artist Mikayla Henry said, laughing.
Henry, a major contributor of paintings, is also the curator of the first LGBTQ+ Pride exhibit at LPC’s Art Gallery. Henry — a third year art history and studio art major — was able to get firsthand experience hosting an exhibit, with the help of their art history professor Soraya Renteria. Renteria and Henry were united in their goals to represent the LGBTQ+ community through the universal language of art.
“I want to have representation — art is such a great way to see yourself. I want people to come in here and see themselves or to see a new perspective” Henry said. “I don’t believe I can fully open people’s eyes but just to show a different representation.”
Henry came to Renteria last year about career opportunities in art history, and that was when Renteria suggested running her own exhibit at LPC’s art gallery.
“I love the idea of students being part of our gallery program and being more involved, so it’s been great,” Renteria said.
One of the first decisions they made was for the theme to be about the LGBTQ+ community. Other student artists were invited to have their art on display, and Henry themself has a lot of pride-themed art. Renteria also highlighted how timely a LGBTQ+ exhibit is.
“It has been on my mind for a couple years,” Renteria said. “But with everything going on right now in our country it feels even more important to make sure our LGBTQ+ students feel that they are part of our community and spotlight their experience and give them a voice and a space.”
Renteria and Henry worked to collaborate with artists and organizations as much as possible to fully encompass LPC’s LGBTQ+ community.
“She helped me to write the script to advertise, and I talked to the SAGA (Sexuality And Gender Alliance) club…hoping to get more people to check out the gallery and also submit more art,” Henry said.
In the end, only six artworks were submitted by other artists:
“Waltz of the Sun and Moon” a waltzing couple in charcoal by Althea Villareal. “Contact” a colored pencil piece split into quadrants with a monochrome cacti, orchid and neon embracing same-sex couples by Angel Herrera. “Fruity Fag Rollcall” a fun vintage-themed paper collage created by Kinsey Ferrera.
“There’s Something Wrong In The Village” a painting of a person holding an upside down American flag and casting a shadow of the transgender flag by Nicolette “Quinn” Richard. “Self-made” an embroidery hoop with the words “The sun son said ‘It hurts to become’” and a figure with gender affirming surgery stitched in by Casey Aldava. “Try Not to Fall” an acrylic painting of a figure wearing a binder cast in blue and pink shadow by Alex Richardson. Henry attributes the majority of works in the gallery being painted by her to a short deadline due to wanting the exhibit to be open for a month. For years she has been working on a series of paintings, each representing a different sexuality or gender identity.
“Under the Rainbow”, where all the pride flags come out to play in a utopian, dreamy acrylic painting. In “Under the Rainbow,” it looks like the lost city of Atlantis with a school of fish swimming in an underwater city. The fish are an allusion to a previous painting, “Sea of Pride”. Henry described the response she got from her peers when she was working on it backstage.
“I loved how people would come up to me and be like ‘Oh my gosh that one represents me,’ that was really cool because it happened over and over again.”
There are two ionic columns, one colored pink and one colored blue, symbolizing binary gender roles. Pride-flag-colored fish swim across the columns symbolizing their freedom from society’s expectations.
Henry reflected on their experience curating an exhibit for the first time, describing it as positive.
“I feel so proud, I love coming here. I love seeing my art on the wall and how it expresses my community,” they said.
The exhibit is located in the 4000s building on campus and is open until April 3 when a closing reception is being held from 4 p.m to 5 p.m.
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TOP PHOTO: Featured artist Mikayla Henry displays her mural to her grandfather during the LQBTQ+ Art Exhibit, located in the 4000s building, March 29. Henry’s grandfather handmade the frame surrounding the painting. (Photo by Ian Kapsalis/The Express)
Éloise Kangwai is a staff writer for The Express. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter @sycamora8.
