On Wednesday, I went to my first Rose Scholars Event, the art show with artist Nicholas Lawson Carbonaro. Getting to individually speak to the artist was a great experience; as well as appreciating the artwork, I was able to appreciate the meaning and motivations Nicholas had for his pieces.

The show featured a set of eight different works. Many of the works were done on traditional canvas, but there was also a clay and plaster sculpture titled Refugees. Nicholas said this sculpture was inspired by the news stories regarding refugees in places like Iraq and Syria. Along with the sculpture, there was a piece composed of six masks with different faces painted on them and a painting surrounded by wooden pillars. The different mediums Nicholas used to present his art helped the different pieces in the collection to individually stand out and avoid repetitiveness.

My favorite piece of the collection was the first painting, shown above, titled Cornered. Nicholas claimed that his motivation for this work was his high school experience. Throughout high school, he felt cornered and turned to art for a relief. The painting shows the suffering he went through, and the subject of the painting was brought to life by his story.