Artist: Samuel Jernigan
Exhibition: Weight of Whimsy and Ideals
Media: Ceramics, Spray Paint, Wood Panels, Steal
Gallery: CSULB School of Art, Gatov Gallery West
Website: cargocollective.com/samueljernigan
Instagram: samueljenri
About the Artist
Samuel Jernigan recently graduated from the Ceramics Undergraduate program at CSULB in the Fall of 2015. His main interests include ceramics and reading. However, he also enjoys bike riding and chocolate donuts.
Formal Analysis
The work contains sculptures that are both large and small in size. They also vary from being very uniform to bubbly and undulating. Some were also very colorful and looked almost as if it was envisioned from a child’s playful mind. Whereas others were one neutral color.
Content Analysis
The artist explores our own childhood and is intended to evoke that reminisce of simpler times. His idea was to create works that resembled giant toys to show both the belonging we feel when we see our favorite toy and also the alienation and loneliness when we grow out of them and leave the toys behind.
Synthesis / My Experience
Personally, I enjoyed Samuel’s work and as soon as I saw the sculptures, I was taken back to my childhood with the vibrant colors and larger than life characters. I think we all need to remember the simpler times once in a while when one toy could make us forget the rest of the world even existed.
dominiquegomez@csulb 