Senior’s Art Exhibit on Display in Downtown Ithaca

By Rachael Powles ’22, September 23, 2021

Julia Bertussi ’22 explores what it means for art to be complete.

Julia Bertussi ’22 standing outside the Community ArtSpace

Thanks to an agreement between the Community Arts Partnership ArtSpace and the Summer Scholar program, Julia Bertussi ’22 is premiering her first solo exhibition.

(Photo Submitted)

Art education major Julia Bertussi ’22 kicked off her senior year with a career highlight: her first solo exhibition. A series of paintings titled “Finding Wholeness in Imperfection,” Bertussi’s exhibition opened for viewing at the Community Arts Partnership ArtSpace in Downtown Ithaca on September 3 and will be showcased through September 25.

Her exhibition marks more than just a next step in her artistic career. It’s also the culmination of her time at IC, and her experience in the Summer Scholars Program in the School of Humanities and Sciences. The program offers undergraduate students the unique opportunity to conduct a paid independent study and produce professional-level work, with an advisor of their choosing. For Bertussi, who paired with associate professor of art Dara Engler, it was the perfect opportunity to explore an artistic theme she’d been pondering since long before she enrolled at IC.

“Summer Scholars is such a worthwhile experience to have this space to really explore something you’re interested in, something you love, and be constantly surrounded by such supportive people.”

Julia Bertussi ’22

When I was first taught art, I was taught that every piece of art I made had to be finished, it had to be photorealistic, in order for it to be considered complete,” said Bertussi. “When I got to IC, suddenly I was in classes where I wasn’t expected to do photorealism every single time. In fact, I was encouraged to just let things be. I really started to play with this idea in my work of leaving certain parts of paintings incomplete. When the opportunity to apply to Summer Scholars came up, I decided to do an entire series just based on the idea of what it means for a painting to be complete.”

For eight weeks beginning in June, Bertussi worked 40 hours a week, painting in a make-shift studio in the corner of her family’s living room. From research to experimentation, she was able to fully immerse herself in the project, which is one of the benefits of the program.

A photo of Julia's painting showing three people laying down

Titled “Finding Wholeness in Imperfection,” the series explores what it means for a painting to be complete.

(Photo submitted)

“Summer Scholars is such a worthwhile experience to have this space to really explore something you’re interested in, something you love, and be constantly surrounded by such supportive people,” said Bertussi.

As part of the program, she and Engler met weekly to discuss her progress on the series. Bertussi felt comfortable with Engler, who serves as her advisor and has been mentoring her painting for two years. The meetings were also beneficial for the professor.

“It was kind of an out-of-body experience. I was just standing there thinking, ‘I can’t believe this is all my work in this room.’ ... I felt so grateful and humbled in that moment to have had this opportunity. It made all of the hard work worth it.”

Julia Bertussi

“Mentoring Julia through her project was a highlight in my summer,” said Engler. “She approached her work with dedication, maturity, and an open mind. She worked incredibly hard, and it shows in her exhibition. She produced a wonderful and large body of work in just eight weeks and grew as an artist. I couldn't be prouder of her.”

For Bertussi, the show’s opening was the perfect close to such an intense summer of work.

“It was kind of an out-of-body experience,” she said. “I was just standing there thinking, ‘I can’t believe this is all my work in this room.’ My parents and one of my sisters drove up to see it, a bunch of my friends were there, professors came by both from within and outside of the art department. I felt so grateful and humbled in that moment to have had this opportunity. It made all of the hard work worth it.”