Grand Valley State University art students Danny VanZandt and Annie Teall have created the exhibition Modes of Representation. VanZandt and Teall held a reception for their exhibition Thursday, Jan. 26. The work will be on display through Thursday, Feb. 2 in the Padnos Gallery in the Calder Arts Center on the Allendale Campus.

“I would hope for it to be intellectually stimulating,” Teall said. “If people aren’t familiar with some of the texts that are integral to our work, I would hope that people would come out with some interest.”

VanZandt is an art history major and Teall is a visual studies major. VanZandt and Teall created the exhibit by combining their interests and their works. VanZandt wanted to try curating something this year and took his interests to the visual studies department and was then referred to Annie and her work.

“(Annie’s) work reflects, to me at least, some of the same interests regarding how when we have art, it acts like a representation of reality; it’s not the real thing and it was a chance for me with Annie to put that on walls,” VanZandt said.

Most of Teall’s work is two-dimensional and uses printmaking techniques such as woodblock prints and inkjet printing. Some pieces have collage elements and many also use acrylics.

“There’s a lot of Annie’s work where it looks like it’s one subject matter, but it’s being tackled in like fifty different ways,” VanZandt said.

The exhibition is intended to work its way through the history of art by using aspects from the beginning of painting to more modern implements such as digital printing.

“Since I was a little kid, I’ve always loved art and I’ve never hung it and I’ve never curated so it was cool to like see your stuff on the walls in the white space,” VanZandt said.

Looking to the future, both VanZandt and Teall are considering graduate school. VanZandt hopes to have a career writing or teaching about art.