You might have seen the name Matthew Hong ’26 on the corners of paintings and sketches in the main hallway. Hong was born in Singapore and moved to the U.S. at a young age. Several of his pieces in the Senior Art Show depict nostalgic scenes of a young boy’s everyday life in Singapore. He said: “My art is a way to re-experience memories that I’ve forgotten because I was there when I was really young.”
Hong started the process of creating his paintings by sketching out different compositions before moving on to working with acrylic paint. Hong said, “Art is multi-faceted and not something that’s one and done. I feel like the more I practice patience, the better my art becomes.”
Hong has taken studio art all four years at the school, including Humanities Studio Art and both Honors Portfolio and Honors Advanced Portfolio classes. He said, “In my classes, my peers and I always support each other and give feedback. The place brings a lot of warmth and cooperation, and we always critique each other’s art.”
“The more I practice patience, the better my art becomes,” said Matthew Hong ’26.
Ella Goldsmith ‘26 has also been deeply involved in studio art both prior to and throughout her four years at the school. She said, “I have painted my whole life. My whole family does art, so I’m always surrounded by it. It was an obvious choice for me to keep doing studio art when I got here.”
Goldsmith’s favorite from her portfolio is a landscape painting of Sucker Brook that she made during her Lower Mid year. The piece grew from a process Goldsmith uses regularly: she starts by brainstorming mind maps before moving on to sketches and finally painting. She said, “I liked being down at the brook and working. It was the first painting I’ve made here that I was super proud of.”
Goldsmith has stepped out of her comfort zone during her Senior year in order to explore a new media:
printmaking. She said, “I’m usually very informed by nature, and I try to make a lot of my pieces as a response to nature. Printmaking is definitely not what I’m used to, but fun nonetheless.” Goldsmith’s printed pieces are rich in color and pattern. Often a collage of identical prints in contrasting colors, with a juxtaposed composition of both negative and positive spaces within a single pattern. She frequently integrates elements and themes from nature into her prints.
Goldsmith and Hong’s work, along with works by other Seniors from the Studio Art program, are on display in the Senior Show in the Rotunda and Main Hallway.
