Senior Lucy Bland’s four-by-six-foot oil painting, “The Trickster I,” commands attention, anchoring a sweeping exhibition of 477 student works that has transformed Abbot Hall’s auditorium into a celebration of teenage creativity.
The art of arranging art
As part of their senior project, the curators developed a thoughtful hanging strategy guided by color, composition and subject matter. They spread all 477 pieces across the floor, experimenting with combinations to create rhythm and cohesion.
Five Marblehead High School seniors — James Pulido, Sonia Miller, Edie May, Campbell Crane and Charlie Roszell — curated, installed and cataloged nearly 500 pieces from students in grades seven through 12 for the annual Spring Art Exhibit, which opened May 21 and runs through May 28.
“We organized around compositions, color themes and subject matter,” said Pulido.
The team paid close attention to contrast and visual flow. “If you’re looking from far away, a pencil drawing might not stand out,” said May, who contributed nine oil paintings. “But placing it next to a dark or brightly colored piece draws your eye.”
Memory, nostalgia on full display
MHS art teacher Shirley Huller White noted recurring themes of nostalgia and personal storytelling throughout the showcase, especially among seniors navigating their transition to college.
“They gravitate toward their personal stories,” said Huller White, who teaches courses from introductory drawing through advanced studio. “They’re always returning to stories about their families and childhood.”
May’s oil painting of her dog Winston exemplifies this instinct. She worked on the portrait intermittently for a year, later writing her college essay about the process.
“I love painting portraits,” said May. “Initially, Winston looked scary, staring intensely, so I spent time making him look cute.”
Noah Jackson, a rising junior, contributed a series of black-and-white, darkroom-processed street photographs exploring isolation and magical realism.
“This project aimed to create a magical experience or something mystical to tell a story,” said Jackson, explaining his levitating card trick image. “I used a wooden dowel to elevate the card.”
He shot the series with a film camera and developed his own prints using traditional darkroom techniques. “I took these with a film camera, developed the film, then used it to make positive prints,” he said.
Bland’s senior work dominates the exhibition’s back wall, where she explores nostalgia through Lego toys and other childhood objects. Three of her oil paintings — presented could be hung as a triptych.
“She calls this the family portrait,” said Huller White. “These are her toys from childhood. We discussed transforming this figure into a thoughtful portrait.”
To document their process, the curators included a two-and-a-half-minute, behind-the-scenes film by senior Aoife Sullivan, which plays on loop throughout the gallery.
“It’s us putting it all together,” said Miller, describing footage of the curators hanging artwork and explaining their system.
A celebration of students’ art
The show features strong representation from younger students. Displaying these alongside advanced studio pieces creates a developmental arc.
“Seventh and eighth graders can see how they’ll progress and hopefully feel inspired to continue,” said Bordieri.
Roszell, who plans to minor in photography while studying sports psychology, said her interest began as a sophomore. “It wasn’t something I initially thought I had a talent for,” she said. “Now I’m very into it.”
Throughout the show, still-life paintings elevate everyday objects, mixed-media collages incorporate vintage toy packaging and digital graphics, and portrait photography ranges from contemplative self-studies to urban street scenes.
Jackson’s work captures the latter, using contrast and texture to create quiet, introspective images — solitary figures navigating snowy paths or framed against vast skies and seaside vistas.
The exhibition affirms the depth of Marblehead’s arts programming, said Huller White.
“It’s a celebration of students’ work,” she said. “We’re passionate advocates for their art, and this demonstrates that advocacy.”
As visitors move through Abbot Hall’s galleries, she added they encounter not only technical skill but evidence of creative risk-taking and personal growth extending far beyond the classroom.
The exhibit in Abbot Hall, 188 Washington St., closes Wednesday at 4 p.m.
Pete Sullivan, who conducted his senior project with the Current, contributed to this report.
