3 CSUB Artists Reflect on Their Work for Upcoming Local Art Show

Lucia+posing+in+the+projection+of+her+poem+for+her+multi-media+piece+%E2%80%9CFind+Comfort+in+Your+Skin%E2%80%9D+%2F+Provided+by+Lucia+Guzman.

Lucia posing in the projection of her poem for her multi-media piece “Find Comfort in Your Skin” / Provided by Lucia Guzman.

Alexis Shofner, Staff Writer

The Bakersfield Museum of Art will be hosting CSU Bakersfield’s senior art show this year at their Art After Dark event on May 26th from 7-9 p.m.  

The show will be free to CSUB students with ID and $5 for general admission.  

Among the seniors showcasing their art this year you’ll be able to find Sydney Sanchez, Lucia Guzman, and Andrew Alvarez.  

These three artists cover completely different topics in their pieces and were able to translate their own personal experiences of the subject through the work while also leaving the message up to the viewer’s interpretation.  

Sanchez will be presenting four pieces in total, Guzman will showcase three, and Alvarez is bringing two to the event.  

Sanchez will be including “Paranoia” in her showcase, her personal favorite and the piece that helped her win the senior project award for the 2022 spring semester. It took her 2 months, working up to 10 hours a day, to complete this hand-stitched rug.  

“Not every day you get to see embroidery as an art form rather than a household skill,” Sanchez says.  

Her biggest goal for her future in the art world is to someday become an art professor and continue exhibiting work in galleries. 

While Sanchez’s work focuses more on the mental effects of stress, Guzman’s is about challenging gender norms and conformities.  

She works with multiple mediums ranging from fabric to acrylic paint and even videography.  

“I want my art to get people to acknowledge regardless of whatever gender you identify that all individuals deserve respect, because we all function as living organisms that feel, think, and go through our own experiences,” Guzman says.  

Aside from being an active student and artist, Guzman also works as an art instructor at the Bakersfield Museum of Art as well as a gallery assistant at Bird Dog Arts in Arvin, CA.  

Alongside Sanchez and Guzman, Andrew Alvarez will also be presenting his art in the form of two scale models that challenge the conception of freedom. “The Room” focuses on the lack of freedom while conforming to American societal norms while his other piece, “I Should Be Safe Now,” references war and pays ode to the current Ukraine conflicts.  

“My biggest goal after graduation is to truly find myself and decide what freedom means to me and how I can live up to that,” Alvarez says.  

To see their work in person visit the Bakersfield Museum of Art on May 26th from 7-9 p.m. located at 1930 R St.