Artist: Sophia Grecco Exhibition: Lucky Places for a Grave Media: Watercolor, charcoal, acrylic Gallery: LBSU School of Art, Merlino Gallery Instagram: @sogriart
About the Artist
Sophia Grecco is a Long Beach State undergraduate student enrolled in the College of the Arts (COTA) program and is currently studying art illustration. As a kid, Grecco loved playing video games and reading a bunch of folklore. Grecco’s interests in gaming and in folklore navigated her towards a common fantasy theme in her art pieces at this exhibition. This past month, student artists like Grecco and Ashley Anderson (co-artist) have been working with watercolor, charcoal, or acrylic paint to put on a show in LBSU’s Merlino Art Gallery.
Formal Analysis
In Grecco’s piece, her media of choice was only watercolor. With this element, she created five different paintings that cultivate the audience by its unearthly theme and characteristics. Ironic enough, the color scheme of all paintings was heading towards earth tone and soft pastel colors. The viewer can feel the movement in the photo through the repetition of wavy and jagged lines in each painting. The size of each painting is large enough for the viewer to see from a few feet away but for minor details it is best to step a little closer to really admire each stroke of the paint brush. Together, the five paintings have a beautiful flow that each tell a meaningful story.
Content Analysis
As I was conversing with Grecco, she noted that she made her pieces sort of as a way to edit and reinterpret folk tales and fairy tales to make it her own and meaningful to herself and hopefully others. She wanted to step out of the boundaries of the typical fairy tale of a vulnerable princess getting saved by a male dominant figure or the common dragon slayer protagonist. In the painting titled In her Shadow, it shows a male figure with a sword, (most likely the dragon slayer protagonist) leaning against a large mountain figure in the shape of a feminine body. The size ratio between the woman figure and the male figure represents the difference in dominance between the two. Through her paintings you can see this same occurring theme of female power in a lighthearted but beautiful way.
My Experience
I honestly felt like I was in a fairy tale when I entered this exhibit. Grecco’s partner Ashley Anderson had her artwork on the left side of the exhibit while Grecco’s were on the right. While Anderson’s art shows a darker and more groggy fantasy theme, Grecco portrays the lighthearted and royal fantasy theme. In the middle of the exhibit was a large banner of pastel water color that shows a balance between Anderson and Grecco’s art. The exhibit was merely pretty and whimsical. I loved the meaning behind Grecco’s art pieces and I was curious about why they named the exhibit “Lucky Places for a Grave.” Turns out, they just used a word generator to pick out words that they really liked and put on this wonderful art exhibit together!
andrea's blog 