Give and Take

From the Longview Museum of Fine Arts:

“This semester (Spring 2024), Tyler Junior College Art Professor and Department Chair, Derrick White decided to create a collaborative art piece with each of his painting students, a total of four classes.

White explains, “The process involved my laying down some intuitive swaths of acrylic paint color on 22” x 30” sheets of watercolor paper. Students then selected one of the pieces and added visual elements they wanted to include like collage, actual textures, and representational or non-objective imagery. I would then get the piece back from each student and add elements of collage and paint to try and achieve a compositional resolution. I would incorporate the students’ choices and expand on the perceived directions I interpreted. The completed piece is then returned to the student. They may leave it as is or continue to alter the work. I found these collaborations fun and engaging, overwhelming, and creatively challenging.”

Derek Frazier, Curator of Collections & Preparator at the LMFA extended invitation for a museum exhibition of the works.

19 students have chosen to have their pieces exhibited at the museum along with 2 of Derrick White’s own works. White’s two pieces will bookend the exhibition being the one artwork he completed on his own exploring processes before starting the collaborations and the first piece he has created since completing the student collaborations.”

Artists: Derrick White with collaborations with Doug Allgood, Wilma Allgood, Rune Ballard, Jenni Barrios, Emily Chadwick, Georgia Christensen, Nancy Cooper, Ann Earl, Jessenia Gonzalez, Payton Haley, Barry Jacobs, Leslie Mendez, Kenzie Murphree, Mikayla ‘Silver’ Oyola, Kaity Perez, Esther Reifel, Danell Roadruck, Maria Vazquez Sandoval, and Ava Squyres.