Art curation and installation is often a person's last thought when exploring an art exhibition. However, for one local designer, creating impactful experiences with a piece is essential.
Sydney Pendarvis is a local designer who played a huge role in curating Lori Rohloff-Peek’s exhibition at UNT CoLab, which opened on July 12. Pendarvis graduated from Texas Woman’s University (TWU) in 2023 with a degree in design and currently works at a local print shop. As an artist, Pendarvis keeps herself busy with freelancing, designing graphics, and curating exhibitions.
During her years in undergrad, Pendarvis served as the Vice President of TWU’s organization, American Institute of Graphic Arts, creating opportunities for fellow designers to share their work with the community. Pendarvis found her way into The Art Room through a tour taken through one of her courses. When looking for venues for an upcoming exhibition, Pendarvis remembered her time at The Art Room and the work the organization does. Pendarvis finds it important to support local non-profits whenever she can and hopes to see herself more active in the non-profit sector in the future.
“They were really accepting of us trying to do an exhibition,” Pendarvis said. “We walked in all scrappy like ‘can we please?’ and it worked out really great. They were really accepting and really open to [the exhibition], so it makes me happy to support them any way I can. Now I am doing [Lori’s exhibition] for them and I’m really glad to be able to contribute to it.”
The Nexus of Life exhibition and Lori Rohloff-Peek are supported by The Art Room, and during this exhibition Pendarvis was able to work personally with our team, UNT CoLab and Lori. With only a few exhibitions under her belt, Pendarvis was eager for the learning opportunity and experience with this project.
“This is the best team. I am so glad I get to help these people,” Pendarvis said. “I just have so much respect for these people. Even getting to learn from people [at the CoLab] especially since they have been doing this for so long. I am always ready to learn.”
There are many things to consider when curating an exhibition. One of the most important is ensuring that each piece has its moment. The curation and installation of the pieces allow a lot of freedom, which allows the exhibition to almost become a piece of its own.
“Design is very mathematical,” Pendarvis said. “There’s a lot of grids that you can see in your brain that helps with the layout of it all. It helps with balancing everything, based on everything. Color can’t be too heavy on one side, sizes and shapes of the pieces. There’s not a set answer for anything. There are guidelines, but there’s too much freedom [for the layout]. A lot of it is intuitive.”
During a successful opening night, members from the community were able to come in and experience Lori’s work through the help of Pendarvis’ curation and installation with the UNT CoLab. Enjoying the night, mingling with Lori and other members of the community, and seeing the joy the installation can bring, the stress that can come with trying to perfect a project is finally put at ease.
“I like to be like ‘girl you did that, it’s done’,” Pendarvis said. “In The Art Room especially they are all very encouraging and that definitely helps. I am just so glad to be getting these opportunities and to be learning.”
Nexus of Life: Lori Rohloff-Peek’s Artistic Odyssey with Huntington’s Disease will be up at the UNT CoLab until July 27. The public can come in and enjoy Lori's incredible works firsthand.