MOSTEST! Exhibition Catalogue 2022

Curated by Therese Kolodzik with guidance by Guanyu Xu

Mostest CoverArt Designed by Halee Jane Pratcher

MOSTEST!

Untethered from a specific course, MOSTEST! Highlights the work students are the most excited to share, the most beloved, the most… MOSTEST! Though selected artists were brought together through a call for entry that asks only for aesthetic maximalism, the works naturally speak to each other. They play a game of visual telephone, grasping onto visual motifs to connect far-flung stars into constellations. Too loud. Too decorative. Too busy. Too weird. Too much. Mostest! provides a place to show unrestrained and gratuitous work, where self-expression is paramount, and the boundaries dissolve creatively.

Curated

by Therese Kolodzik Advisor: Guanyu Xu

MOSTEST! Was Originally shown in October of 2022 at the Bloc Gallery, located at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign School of Art and Design.

Forward

When Therese asked me to write her a forward for Mostest, I was stuck as what to say. Mostest, by its very nature, was a project that sought to defy clean definition. Writing about something that was meant to be uncontained was as daunting of a task as wraggling the dozen or so artists from radically different backgrounds and trying to make it all make sense. I can’t say that I’ll be able to accurately capture the energy that went into the project, which, even for an undergrad show, was frenetic. The interdisciplinary nature of Mostest, and the no holds barred approach Therese had, resulted in a whirlwind of mismatched creativity which had no right to work as well as it did. This was largely because instead of selecting art for the show, Therese selected artists, who to a degree, had a unified ethos of excess. While I’m sure the posters may have drew in viewers for the show, they ultimately did very little in the way of acquiring talent, which was to the show’s benefit. Mostestended up being an experiment in itself, almost in the same vein as the Dada greats.

-Christian Klehm

Ghost Riders in the Sky

2021 Linoleum Block Print, 15”x19”

Without the added context one can Gleam from a well craftedartiststatement,Iwaslefttointerpretmyown findings in these pieces from just their titles and formal elements. I am fond of artworks that have this ability to speak for themselves, and as I looked at the collection of works I had gathered from the participating artist certain themes and similarities startedtoemerge. These artists seemed to be toying with expressions of our mortality, of loneliness, dissociation, escapism, or grappling with broader concerns of climate change or bodily rights. These dark subjects are so frequently juxtaposed by the vibrancy of these artworks. Tantalizing hues of pinks and blues brighten the concepts making them more palatable for public digestion. Monochromatic works utilize tangles of intricate linework to communicate their messages. The tangles of the fine lines elicit thoughts of constricting nets or oppressive thoughts echoing over and over in ones mind.

Yet despite these heavy and times distressing themes there are glimpses of hope, of renewal. Frozen moments allow the viewer to imagine a better end. Is the figure laying bruised and beaten offered a friendly hand off the floor? Do overwhelming thoughts dance and float away to become distant or even pleasant memories? Do these portraits of lone people connect oversharedexpressions?

Isituptotheartist?Theviewer?Me?

I don’t have the answers, but I hope that by bringing these works, these artists, together I managed to assembleastorythatwasgreaterthanitsparts.

Rachel Gu

A Third Eye, 2022

Ceramics, 18*19*1 in,

Rachel

Gu

Yellow Night, 2022

Ceramics, 13*9*1 in,

Estephany Barrera

archival images-popsicle stick, 20x9,

"what was she like?", 2022

Elise McClanahan

Mellow and Sweet, 2022

paint marker, 9'' x 12

in my mind, 2022

pen, 9'' x 12

Fossils Remastered, 2022

Archival

Afterward

When I began my artistic career four years ago I was making magical and imaginative images. As I went through critique after critique I received more and more praise as my images became simpler, “cleaner”, and more stripped down until they were mere portraits in a colorless void. As my confidence grew I listened less to my vocal critiques and more to my own intuition. My works became more vibrant, more complex, more unique, and ultimately more interesting.

I understand how impactful the loud critiques of men in power can be on young and emerging artists. I know how scary it can be to submit your work to your first call for art.

In comes MOSTEST! A show that epitomized my goal of The show was about empowerment. It was about the strength it takes to take up space you may not feel is meant for you. It was about listening to criticism but also feeling confident in your own abilities. I questioned myself when I applied for space in the BLOC Gallery, an opportunity reserved for Instructors and MFA students, but that is what made the space so ideal for this show. First in foremost this show is about being loud and taking up space.

-Therese Kolodzik