“I love going to exhibitions by graduating artists to see the new crop of talent and get an idea about what’s going on with particular programs,” Maine Sunday Telegram critic Daniel Kany noted on May 2 in his full-page review of Bates’ 2010 Senior Exhibition.

He especially liked Kelly Gollogly’s and Matthew Reynolds’ animated films, and praised Emma Scott’s pairing of images of, and writings by, people orphaned by the 1994 Rwandan genocide. “Student work is literally made for criticism (by the instructor, class ‘crits,’ grades, etc.),” Kany wrote. “Instead of insisting that you revere the work (like in a museum) or admire the work (like in a gallery) or enjoy the work (like in a friend’s home), art in thesis shows tends to exude a message akin to: ‘Here’s what I did: What do you think?’ I like that direct humility.” View story from the Maine Sunday Telegram.

Jenkins discusses the process of printmaking on May 4 and the current Senior Exhibition on May 11. Kim will talk about artist Marsden Hartley on May 18. All talks are open to the public and will be held in the upper level of the Bates Museum of Art, Olin Arts Center, 75 Russell St. For more information, please call 207-786-6158.

Jenkins’ first talk seeks to illuminate the often-mysterious mediums of silkscreen and lithography. Focusing on a small group of works from the collection and using a PowerPoint presentation, the talk will detail the processes of each medium step by step. The goal is to enable viewers to better to visualize the evolution of a work, and better appreciate the amount of work put into making prints.

Jenkins will next focus on a tour of the Senior Exhibition. The talk includes information on the yearlong thesis process required of art majors, an overview of the organization and installation of the show, and insights into Jenkins’ and her co-exhibitors’ art.

Finally, Kim will talk about artist Marsden Hartley, based on research she conducted during a museum internship. Born in Lewiston, Hartley is recognized as one of America’s greatest modernist painters. Kim will explore Hartley’s wanderings and his unique vision that emerged from his relationship with nature and human interactions.

Sixteen studio art majors at Bates show work from their yearlong thesis projects in the annual Senior Exhibition, which opens with a public reception at 6 p.m. Friday, April 9, in the Bates College Museum of Art, 75 Russell St.

The exhibition runs through May 29. Admission is free. Regular hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. For more information, please call 207-786-6158 or visit the museum Web site.

Senior Exhibition artists are:

• Christopher Childs, Andover, Mass.
• Annie Connell, Newburyport, Mass.
• Elizabeth Denham, Essex, Conn.
• Sarah Ewing, Washington, Conn.
• Kelly Gollogly, Ridgefield, Conn.
• Olga Grigorenko, Astoria, N.Y.
• Samuel Guilford, Surry, Maine
• Lisa Hartung, of Farmington, Maine
• Heidi Judkins, also of Farmington
• Jennifer Lee, Friday Harbor, Wash.
• Matthew Reynolds, Mill Valley, Calif.
• Cory Sanderson, W. Newton, Mass.
• Emma Scott, Philadelphia
• Allison Spangler, New York
• Emma Sprague, Winchester, Mass.
• Alexandra Strada, Amagansett, N.Y.

As required by the major, the exhibiting students create a cohesive body of work through sustained studio practice and critical inquiry. The yearlong process is overseen by studio art faculty and culminates in this exhibition.

This year’s show includes animated films, documentary photographs made in a nursing home, photographs of nudes shot in the studio and in the open, Photoshopped travel images, paintings and drawings, prints made using a flyswatter on pages from a phone book, collaged prints that play with iconic images of male movie stars, an unusual take on wallpaper, mandala and fashion-inspired spray paintings, and a sculptural installation.

Guilford’s stenciled paintings are based on the mandala, a sacred art form significant in Buddhism and Hinduism. Employing graffiti, pop culture, spiritual imagery and political symbolism, his work is a means of self-examination and an exploration of what humans believe, value and hold sacred, both individually and collectively.

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Hartung manipulates digital photographs to convey the intense emotion that eyes can communicate without words. Images of eyes are arranged to create a visual rhythm, similar to wallpaper. “My goal is for viewers to see a visually intriguing pattern upon first glance, enjoying the repetition of color and shape,” she says. “Maybe they will notice that the wall examines them as they examine it.”

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Denham uses such varied media as acrylics, spray paint, collage and stencil to create a style she terms “pop crap.” Interested in both fashion and the deterioration of manmade structures and materials, she creates heavily layered art that reveals more the longer one looks.

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Ewing uses photography to shock and provoke. Her intimate focus on the female body is not intended to address particular questions, but instead is inspired by the process of creation itself. In an effort to push boundaries just far enough, she describes her process as “a conversation about the images as they are being created.”

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Connell uses ink and gouache, with limited color, to emphasize line, form and layering. In a process both slow and admittedly obsessive, she exploits the power of gestures and the aggregation of simple lines to bring forth complex forms while creating a sense of uneasy intimacy between viewer and subject.

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In her printmaking, Grigorenko uses ink, a flyswatter and pages torn from a phone book to demonstrate how ordinary objects can be transformed “from the almost imperceptible to the visually active” by the viewer’s perception. “It was within the very limitations of my materials,” she says, “that I found an astonishing yet subtle world of complexity and variability.”

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Childs makes charcoal drawings of parts of the body, which he then combines into larger-than-life collages that challenge our concept of the body. He says the process “is like putting together a puzzle without having the cover picture on the box to help.”

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