Marina Bravo
Staff Writer
The University of La Verne’s Campus Center West Gallery is showing the exhibit “Velo,” a series of 18 paintings that depict and put a creative play on velodromes, tracks designed for cycling races, by artist J. David Carlson.
The name “Velo” is French for bicycle. Each painting depicts the cycling tracks, each with unique color schemes. Some vibrant, almost neon, and some more relaxed colors.
Exhibit curator Dion Johnson, director of art galleries and distinguished artist, shared the creative process and what it was like working with Carlson to bring his artistic vision to life.
“You sort of trust them to come up with something that’s inventive,” Johnson said.
On Monday, the morning of the exhibition’s opening, a group of ULV students stopped by to appreciate the artwork.
The students were able to view each of the paintings and interpret them in their own unique ways. One painting that stood out to the students and got them thinking, was one that was a series of eight paintings that were in a randomized order. The colors were vibrant and the shapes each all different but similar at the same time almost like a puzzle.
Johnson shared that the original piece was another cycling track. When he and Carlson met to discuss, Johnson had suggested the piece be scrambled to allow the viewer to interpret it in their own way. When students viewed that painting, it instantly caught their eye.
“I think that’s the one that calls out to me the most, because I’m having like a harder time figuring out what it’s supposed to symbolize,” Ashley Alvarez, sophomore honors biology major, said.
Art like Carlson’s piece opens doors for interpretation and offers connection between artist and audience in that way. Which is exactly what many of the students would mention when looking at these pieces. Many students correlated “freedom of expression” and “individuality” when it came to the broad spectrum of the importance of art and how Carlson’s artwork was able to help them view that as well.
“The importance of art is a representation of what goes on in your head. It is a freedom of expression,” Zoe Garcia, freshman psychology major, said.
The human experience is also an influence not only through art but also when viewing and looking into art and coming out to an exhibit like this one. Johnson shared that in creating these works, Carlson took inspiration from his everyday life while he was at his art studio in San Diego.
“His studio on campus is overlooking tennis courts, and he was inspired by the pattern,” Johnson said.
“(Art) is like a way to connect and evoke emotion out to people,” said Elizabeth Herrera, sophomore biology major, who attended the event and even shared how she personally evokes emotions and expression to others through her dance.
The exhibit runs through April 10 in the West Gallery on the second floor of the Campus Center.
Marina Bravo can be reached at marina.bravo@laverne.edu.
Marina Bravo is a senior communications major with a concentration in public relations. She is arts editor and a staff photographer for the Campus Times, and has previously served as a staff writer and photographer for the Campus Times and La Verne Magazine. She enjoys going to live shows and everything spooky.
Vicente Rodriguez is a senior photography major with a marketing minor and a staff photographer for the Campus Times. He has previously served as photography editor of the Campus Times and a staff photographer for La Verne Magazine.
