To culminate his last semester as a fine arts major at Cal State Fullerton, fifth-year sculptor Owen Wilkins showcased “Constructed Patterns,” his first exhibit in the Leo Freedman Gallery, at a public reception on Wednesday.
The campus galleries are updated every other week with three student artist showcases on display. Five total groups are shown throughout the semester. On display from Oct. 14 to Oct. 18, Wilkins’ pieces belong to the second round of student gallery exhibitions this fall.
“I make sculptures to communicate my observations of the world and my philosophical musings through the layers of meanings contained in and around the objects I create,” Wilkins wrote in his exhibition notes. “I want to spark thought and exploration in my audience, to poke them and confuse them just enough to tip them over the edge of the philosophical rabbit hole.”
Wilkins completed his six constructed pattern sculptures this summer in about a month, with his largest and most time-consuming piece featuring a multitude of individually glued drumsticks.
The title “Expanding at a Decreasing Rate” hints at what the sculpture exemplifies.
“The universe is expanding at a decreasing rate. We started at the Big Ban — exploded. It’s getting bigger, but that expansion is slowing down, which means eventually it will stop expanding and start shrinking and return it back to a single point, and that’s the significance of this piece. The bottom layer of sticks is perfectly symmetrical. It’s a mirror,” Wilkins said.
Rather than garnering inspiration from a particular artist, Wilkins’ passion and creativity are fueled by his lived experiences.
“[I get] inspiration more through personal experience and pain, not physical but more emotional pain. Also things that I wish were different about either the art world, specifically myself or our power structures,” Wilkins said.
His second largest sculpture on display, “The Shaky Foundations of Knowledge,” is made of wooden drum shells, steel drum shells, steel drum hoops, aluminum and various nuts and bolts, contributing to its striking and rhythmic appearance.
“Constructed Patterns is designed to explore the dichotomy between order and chaos, repetition and randomness. This work uses drums, drum parts, and drum accessories as pieces of iconography to represent these patterns and lack thereof,” Wilkins wrote in the description of the piece.
Wilkins’ overarching message is that it is important to decompress and enjoy life with the limited time that we are given.
“The idea, the message of the piece, is everything ends, nothing’s permanent. Everything that gets done will become undone,” Wilkins said. “So nothing matters. And I think when nothing matters, nothing has to matter. It gives us a lot more room to relax and try and enjoy it in all aspects.”
Pedro Maradiaga, CSUF alumnus and social media strategist for the College of the Arts, said these exhibitions allow students to enhance their artistry by examining alternative means of expression outside of their expertise.
“I think the best way to do good art is to get involved in other forms of artwork,” Maradiaga said. “If you’re someone that draws, you should definitely go see music, go see dance, cause then you can see how people move.”
Amy Tran, a CSUF alumnus and former studio art major, mentioned that these exhibits motivate and inspire her artistry by seeing how other art majors execute their creative vision.
“I feel like it broadens my knowledge on the stuff you can do, especially because I do glass blowing and a lot of other sculpture art,” Tran said. “I feel like I get to not only learn different materials you can use to make art, I can just see how others think to put stuff together.”