CROSSLEY GALLERY

EXHIBITION DATES: April 21 - 15, 2025

RECEPTION: Friday, April 25, 2025, 5:00 - 8:00 pm 

​

The Fine Arts Department of Ringling College of Art + Design is pleased to present Growing Sideways a Senior thesis exhibition featuring the work of artists Natalie Burdett, Laura Durr, Sophie Mitchell and Mia Szafranic. Reception This Friday, April 11 at Crossley Gallery.

 

Growing Sideways showcases contemporary influences on each artists’ upbringing, and the subsequent effects on their young adulthood. Within this exploration, these artists bridge the gap between an array of mediums, including, time-based, painting, and sculpture. Natalie Burdett subversively utilizes pop-culture references and stereotypically feminine iconography to shed light on contemporary experiences with misogyny and exploitation, while simultaneously highlighting the fabricated glamorization of womanhood. Laura Durr comments on the modern state of the internet and how it influences children’s behavior and naivety through satire and storytelling through children’s toys. Sophie Mitchell explores the emotional landscapes of nostalgia, childhood, and loss, reflecting on the fluidity of human emotion through mixed media techniques. By combining soft, muted textures with vibrant strokes, she evokes a deep yearning for innocence and a simpler time, capturing the ever-evolving dialogue between memory and emotion. Mia Szafranic explores the depth of material and imagery through the use of objects familiar to her childhood, focused on memories shaped by her parents’ laborious work.

These artists invite you to recontextualize your perception of youth, and the memories’ profound effect on adulthood.