Art
“I threw myself into numerous opportunities while in Guilford’s art department, from study abroad semesters, to field trips to major museums and talks with visiting artists. The totality of that experience left me confident in myself as an artist, with a great foundation in skill and theory and I’m pursuing my MFA at Boston University.”
— Kathleen Kennedy ‘ 10
Visual artists at Guilford appreciate that art is never created or regarded in a vacuum. Each student is challenged to articulate his or her personal vision, to explore the process of making art and the historical and contemporary issues that surround artistic expression.
Guilford’s studio art program offers study in ceramics, drawing, painting, photography, printmaking and sculpture. Coursework includes the development of critical, technical and observational skills. Our community of student artists learns to critique work insightfully; to examine composition and content and share observations constructively. A hallmark of the Guilford program is close collaboration with faculty, who as exhibiting artists themselves, embody the tenacity, resilience and determination of those dedicated to communicating through their art.
We explore artworks through visual and contextual analysis in addition to the frameworks of art traditions and stylistic movements. Art history is inherently interdisciplinary. When you study a particular artist you follow the interests and progressions of their experience and inquiry. This process fosters critical thinking by inspiring related investigations of the influences of biography, historical events, social and political concerns, cultural context and issues of identity.
Art students at Guilford often say they benefit from something that transcends skill and practice: the un-nameable qualities that emerge in a student whose inquiries and ideas receive the consistent and unwavering attention of the professor. Small class size fosters in-depth analysis of craft and technique. Nuances of influence and artistic direction are held up, not to be examined and defined but to encourage students to question, experiment and take risks, to push their ideas to the limit and then to stretch those limits.
Our graduates have pursued a wide array of artistic paths; they are curators, photographers, art teachers and museum staff who often come back to visit our studios and spend time with faculty members who have become life-long friends.
