Middle School students were in for a (visual) treat when seven senior art students presented at MS assembly on Thursday, March 2.

After the Upper School art teachers spoke about the visual arts program that awaits the boys in Carey Hall — Karl Connolly about painting and drawing and Sarah Sachs about sculpture and photography — the seniors took turns behind the podium and shared about their experiences.

• Jeevan Khanuja ’23 said he had enjoyed Design & Woodworking in Middle School so much that he decided to pursue sculpture in Upper School. In that class, he used wood to represent different music genres for his data-mapping project.
• Truman Paternotte ’23 focused his data-mapping project on Peyton Manning’s 55-touchdown season. He also shared an image of a rock sculpture portraying hands that he created. His advice to his younger peers: “You have to have a creative mind, you have to be proud of your work. It doesn’t have to be museum-worthy.”
• Anay Agarwal ’23 said, in response to Connolly’s assertion that art class is not an “easy A,” that the Upper School art program “takes lots of work and time” and that it has been his most difficult class. His work focuses on portraiture and figures in motion.
• Charlie Fenwick ’23 spends time painting nighttime landscapes, using photos he shoots of areas that aren’t often considered for artistic focus, like a gas station or an alley.
• Louis Rosenthal ’23, who has a part-time job at Corner Pantry, paints the subject he is most passionate about: food and cooking. When he began in the art program, he was focused only on realism, but a conversation with Connolly encouraged him to try his hand in the abstract realm. Rosenthal realized that “you don't need to capture realism to engage in composition.”
• Luca Pavlovich ’23, who is colorblind, had a simple line of inspiration for the Middle Schoolers: “If I can paint, so can you!”
• Michel Morfaw ’23 has an interest in African American history that intersects with current context, so he has painted from photos of famous historical events, such as footage captured just before the killing of Ahmaud Arbery. Head of Middle School Armond Lawson commented on the impact of Morfaw’s powerful depictions of history. This school year, Morfaw is focusing more on having his paintings tell personal stories using photos from his everyday life.

Thank you to all the talented seniors who shared their artwork and provided guidance and encouragement to the Middle School students as they contemplate their futures in the arts at Gilman.