A studio art student with a concentration in photography has been selected to exhibit in the 32nd Annual University Student Exhibition presented by the Atlantic Center for the Arts. The opening reception takes place on Friday, May 14 at 5:00 p.m. and the exhibition is on view from May 15 to August 7.
Gabriel Marino’s extensive background in photography and design made him the perfect candidate for this exhibition. In addition to his BFA in Studio Art, Marino is earning a bachelor’s degree in advertising and public relations with a minor in digital media. He is currently a photo laboratory manager at UCF.
The Atlantic Center for the Arts Annual University Student Exhibition honors outstanding art students across Florida’s nine major state university art departments. Each department nominates up to three full-time, degree-seeking students. This year, Marino was nominated by UCF Art Gallery director Shannon Lindsey.
“The quality of work submitted in years past indicates that the departments provide the intellectual and creative direction necessary for students to push their limits; resulting in work that is unique in its singleness of vision,” said Atlantic Center for the Arts leadership in a statement. “By identifying and promoting these emerging artists, Atlantic Center hopes to focus statewide attention on the high level of creative and experimental work being produced at the college level throughout Florida’s state university system.”
Marino was recognized for his advertorial-inspired imagery that leaves a long-lasting impression on viewers through its extravagance and tongue-in-cheek humor. Marino’s artist statement can be found below.
“My production of advertorial-inspired, glitz-heavy imagery delivered through a kitsch, tongue-in-cheek humor celebrates community and facilitates conversation surrounding the conflicts between Floridian and queer cultures. My subject matter is informed by queer culture and its relation to the environment and my aesthetic elements are inspired by advertorial and commercial photography to create visually appetizing and attention-grabbing images. I reference art history for its heavily produced and staged holy imagery, using artifice as a means for ironic candidness. Through digital compositing and attention-grabbing iconography, the imagery I produce is meant to be an outspoken visual cacophony to establish an intimate and lasting connection between subject and viewer in a positively tacky and extravagant fashion.”
View Marino’s work in Amalgam: BFA Exhibition I.