As newcomers walk through the doors of the “Draw In” exhibit, they are greeted by an empty room with a free-standing wall featuring a drawing of television sets placed upon tree stumps.
“Draw In” is hosted by Cal Poly’s University Art Gallery, and displays the work of seven artists: Joe Biel, Ben Britton, Sarah Lowing, Alison Byrnes, Ephraim Puusemp, Jay Stuckey and Natalie Settles.
Through word of mouth these artists and Jeff Van Kleeck, the gallery coordinator, recruited one another to be a part of the show. Having crossed each other’s paths at one point in their art careers, the artists decided to display their work together in one gallery.
“Five of the artists are from Los Angeles, one teaches in India and the other is from Pittsburg,” said Van Kleeck. “We try to bring different stuff to the community to bring something people haven’t seen before.”
Each artist has multiple pieces displayed at the gallery that represent a different use of the drawing medium. The featured art has a realistic touch from a simple medium — it is comparable to the doodling done in class but has been taken to a professional and artistic level.
Featured artist Stuckey explained his work as “drawings and collages.”
“In terms of where the world comes from, all the images in the work are derived from dreams, visions and automatic drawings,” Stuckey said. “Automatic drawing is a technique the realists developed that stemmed from automatic writing.”
Walking through the art gallery, viewers experience a flow of artwork that, according to the artists, brings a peace of mind. The white walls hold drawings in a simple row along the room.
Biel, who describes his style as realistic drawings that contain intricate detail to display the intensity of the objects in the artwork, said he hopes his work creates thoughts in his viewers.
“I want people to think about human situations, and people to think (about) what it’s like to be being a person in the world,” Biel said. “My work is particularly about how people feel and think. I set up situations that people can think about in different ways.”
Seeing the artists’ drawings can stir many questions and inspirations from the viewer. The complexity of many of the pieces can make attendees wonder why the artist chose to display thoughts in such a particular manner, and leaves viewers with a sense of questioning.
Byrnes said she uses the concept of history and the moment that created the theories that exist today in her art work. She hopes students can find inspiration through seeing the artwork and use it as a creative outlet.
“A lot of what makes art bridge the gap from students to artists is the ideas you have,” Byrnes said. “Once you take it from thinking about things as an assignment to taking it to the level of art, it becomes more exciting. It can branch off into something else if you are willing to put enough time into to make it what it needs to be.”
All seven of the artists are professional artists, and the University Art Gallery intentionally chose to bring in international and national work to the art gallery instead of local work, said Van Kleeck.
University Art Gallery student director and art and design senior Cathy Kossack said the diversity of the artwork makes the show unique.
“In San Francisco and New York, there is such a diverse showing of art and instead of just having community art that is mainly displayed around here, we are trying the bring that diversity here,” Kossack said.
“Draw In“ is open for viewing Tuesday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. until Oct. 29.