Every Wednesday evening students gather in room A102 of the Fine Arts Center for the University of Rhode Island’s Art Club meeting and studio time. Nick Costa, a sophomore bachelor of fine arts major and art club president, describes the Art Club as “a social club” where students can work on their own art and interact with each other. They share skill sets and critique each other’s work when one of them is looking for an opinion.
“We’re trying to engage a community of artists,” Costa said, describing the club. He encouraged students of all majors to join. Costa is actually the only art major out of all the current club members. Costa took on the mantle of Club President going into his sophomore year and has had an interest in art since he was in elementary school.
Drawing inspiration from Spanish painter Pablo Picasso’s Blue Period, Costa created a series of water-color paintings. These paintings show students on their phones in various settings, unaware of the world around them. Beautifully defined figures illustrate how people are captivated, or rather captured, by their smartphones. Picasso’s Blue Period refers to the years 1901 through 1904 used to define the works produced by Picasso when he painted essentially monochromatic paintings in shades of blue and blue-green with occasional warmer tones.
Costa displayed another piece of art where he used graphite, charcoal, ink and conte crayon to draw a separate image with each. He then took the four images and cut them up to create a collage made of the different mediums and pictures. A lot of the art work that members of the club do is two-dimensional work, almost entirely drawings and paintings he explained. “My favorite art style is oil painting,” Costa said. “Though, I usually use graphite during club time. Drawing is more portable when you’re done.”
Costa organizes the club meetings with Vice President Andrea Hunt, a fellow sophomore, and Sophia Fusco, the club’s treasurer. Fusco works with The Student Organization Advisory and Review Committee, known as SOARC, to keep up funding for the clubs art supplies. In the past the club was known to go on field trips to art museums or galleries. Though, they have not done this in the last couple of years, Costa said it was something the club may look back into, depending on funding.
Students of any age, major, and skill set are welcomed to join the club. Club meetings are scheduled for Wednesdays at 5 p.m., and more information for the club, as well as contact information, can be found by going to the URI Art Club Facebook page.