2021 MAEA Recognitions Exhibit

Organization or School Affiliation: Worcester Public Schools

Student Name: Nhi Huynh
Grade: Grade 12
Artist Statement: My photograph is called "The Most Beautiful Women". The "model" that I chose is an old woman who has turned 70 years old. The reason behind this was I wanted to let other people know that beauty is inherently unlimited. Wrinkles on the face, eyes imprinted with timestamps, rough hands after years of hard work—are the beauty that makes people fall in love. Life does not have any norm of perfection.

Organization or School Affiliation: Norwood High School

Student Name: Katelyn Flynne
Grade: Grade 11
Artist Statement: This painting is of my cousin playing outside and having fun. This piece is meant to show the happiness people find when they are being themself. It depicts the value of individualism and confidence in oneself. It shows the bravery it takes to be who you truly are and the happiness that bravery can bring you

Organization or School Affiliation: Norwood High School

Student Name: William Morrisey
Grade: Grade 10
Artist Statement: I went for a simple pose and expression to focus on the face itself and the values of it. The hat I am wearing in this is my favorite hat. I think the lightness of the hat looks good with my dark hair. I tried my best to make sure that each different part of the drawing had different values so it all stands out from each other.

Organization or School Affiliation: Norwood High School

Student Name: Samantha Gale
Grade: Grade 11
Artist Statement: Inspired by the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment and my shock that there are still so many gender issues present, especially for young women, I decided to create drawings that break down stereotypes of women who portray a significant adjective that is not often associated with women. This piece portrays confidence and uniqueness.

Organization or School Affiliation: Agawam High School

Student Name: Kimberly Beaver
Grade: Grade 12
Artist Statement: This piece represents the feeling at the end of a race, the “final kick.” Running is slightly primitive, and almost animal-like at times. It’s the feeling of giving yourself over to the sport completely. During the last sprint of a race, you know people are coming up behind you. You keep sprinting because you know the pain of failure will be even worse than any pain at the moment.

Organization or School Affiliation: Waltham Public Schools

Student Name: Amy Hong
Grade: Grade 11
Artist Statement: The theme of time, specifically memories, drove me to paint my friend and her chihuahua. People haven’t been able to meet with their friends and family due to Covid-19. Painting this from a photo I had taken before the pandemic was a way to reminisce about life, look back on joyful memories you share with friends and family. I hope this inspires people to check in on their loved ones.

Organization or School Affiliation: Norwood High School

Student Name: Mariam El Awad
Grade: Grade 12
Artist Statement: My artwork “One” is a digital painting. While working on this piece, I wanted to delve deeper into the concept of diversity. Humans are so diverse, it is meaningless to define how we can be different. I would rather focus on commonalities that unify our existence as humans, bring us together, and build up society. I hope my art inspires others to be kinder to each other.

Organization or School Affiliation: Norwood High School

Student Name: Gerard O'Reilly
Grade: Grade 12
Artist Statement: This piece was made to convey a hellish setting and characters. I wanted to experiment with my art and produce a piece that uses bold colors to really make an impact. For character design, I wanted to make unsettlingly-cute characters that are appealing and appalling at the same time. Overall, I believe this piece meets my standard of quality and really stands out among my work.

Organization or School Affiliation: Fairhaven High School

Student Name: Fiona Marques
Grade: Grade 12
Artist Statement: I wanted to portray an experience of a feeling. The feeling of "All Eyes on Me". Scrutiny, judgement, jealousy, shame, prejudice, bias, misunderstanding, hatred, envy... all the feelings that make one feel belittled, small and insignificant. As if one was prisoned in a box with a thousand onlookers.

Organization or School Affiliation: Waring School

Student Name: Yaqi Liu
Grade: Grade 11
Artist Statement: When the pandemic hits. People all around the world tend to immerse themself into the madness created by the internet. Tons of bad news are displaying on the headline and people are worried. I want to find peace within myself and try to isolate myself from the chaos. That’s why I create this little world that I can find my internal peace.

Organization or School Affiliation: Norwood Public Schools, Norwood High School

Student Name: Shelby Francis
Grade: Grade 11
Artist Statement: For my piece I made a clay sculpture of a woman from the shoulders up. When making it I wanted her head tilted and eyes closed so the piece could have a tranquil feel. The head band was painted orange for a pop of color which also complement her dark skin. I made this piece to challenge myself. I never sculpted a person and I believed that this was the perfect opportunity to.

Organization or School Affiliation: Norwood Public Schools, Norwood High School

Student Name: Richard Maffeo
Grade: Grade 12
Artist Statement: The material that I used for my piece was red clay. In my piece I explored the theme of how humans negatively affected nature. The deer has a tire around its neck that represents the danger that humans pose to animals surviving in the wild. I manipulated how I used color in the piece. The rocks and trees in the background are all painted grey so that the deer’s deep colors will stand out.

Organization or School Affiliation: Waring School

Student Name: Katharine Judy
Grade: Grade 11
Artist Statement: Over this summer I had to spend a lot of time alone with myself. I wasn’t able to see friends, family, my peers, or anyone really. Being this secluded during quarantine, I was granted a lot of time to engage in my hobbies and see the light in the little things. Painting became an escape for me and a way to entertain myself. And the peaches? Well who couldn’t resist.

Organization or School Affiliation: Waring School

Student Name: Ari Dimond-Putnam
Grade: Grade 11
Artist Statement: This piece began as a pleasure project in mid-October as a response to having just read The Epic of Gilgamesh in Humanities. As I made progress on the tree I found that I was enjoying how it had begun to unfold conceptually, but not in execution. When this phase of the piece began I decided to scrap what I had already done and restart on another branch of the dead tree.

Organization or School Affiliation: Lowell Catholic

Student Name: Youna Oh
Grade: Grade 12
Artist Statement: In the present world, numerous people spend endless time staring at their phones and distracting themselves from living in the real world. The boy standing on the subway station focuses on playing a game, not paying attention. Different vivid colors are shown in the background to represent the virtual reality. Modern people are reluctant to communicate and remain uncontacted.

Organization or School Affiliation: Lowell Catholic

Student Name: Abigail Moore
Grade: Grade 12
Artist Statement: In my work, I like to create juxtaposing elements to help tell a story. With this piece, I wanted to use an object of innocence, such as a nun, and contrast that with something sinister. I chose to work with charcoal to create a black and white image to further emphasize the difference between these two themes.

Organization or School Affiliation: Cardinal Spellman High School

Student Name: Eva Dzus
Grade: Grade 11
Artist Statement: In midst of the Covid-19 Pandemic, it is easy to feel like we are alone in our struggles. Virus statistics can be scary, but the Pandemic has also shown how strong people can be in fighting this challenge. This artwork was made to illustrate that we can always find goodness in our lives. I wanted to capture a sense of positivity during an adverse time.

Organization or School Affiliation: Cardinal Spellman High School

Student Name: Katherine Zuis
Grade: Grade 12
Artist Statement: This piece highlights how society marginalizes the homeless. Many people don’t recognize the struggles the homeless experience and are quick to make assumptions about their lives and who they are as people. They’re often seen as lazy, undisciplined, and the epitome of what failure is. The tornado represents our society as a whole and how we show no remorse towards the way we treat the homeless.

Organization or School Affiliation: Cardinal Spellman High School

Student Name: Grace Curtin
Grade: Grade 10
Artist Statement: Within this piece I really wanted to capture a feeling of togetherness and represent the majority of shared experiences we all had in 2020. This year was full of unpredictability, and countless obstacles that were thrown at us without warning. To tie the concept together each scene is represented by a ASL word as a form of inclusion that serves to unite us in these unprecedented times.

Organization or School Affiliation: Cardinal Spellman High School

Student Name: Kyla Quelle
Grade: Grade 12
Artist Statement: This sculpture embodies my infatuation and love of movement. I’m drawn to how ballerinas can contort themselves into unique and stunning poses that is seemingly impossible for most people. When deciding on the ballerina’s gesture I chose to give her this mystical silver aura with a near-unattainable pose because I want viewers to understand anything is possible even when it seems impossible!