Allie Agostino Will Display Her Artworks in Felician College Exhibit

As Allie Agostino prepares for graduation from the art program at Felician College this May, she looks forward to exploring many different things as she believes that learning the elements of fine arts allows one to be creative in many different fields.

The artist from Hasbrouck Heights will show her artwork in a gallery exhibit at the Rutherford campus of Felician College. She explained that instead of a senior thesis the students in the art department will display their works from this past year in the week-long exhibit which opens May 9.

Recently, an example of her work was displayed at Sloan Fine Art Gallery in New York City as part of a large exhibit called “Single Fare 2: Please Swipe Again.” Artists were required to create artwork on an actual Metro Card, Agostino explained. The interesting thing about this show was that the exhibit showcased every entry that was submitted, she said. Thousands of pieces of artistically created MetroCards were on display which represented the thousands of people that do swipe these cards on a day to day basis.

Growing up in Hasbrouck Heights, Agostino attended elementary and middle school in the borough and went on to Bergen County Academies for high school in order to be part of the school's art department. Her years in high school led her to realize that art is what she wanted to do for a career, she said. She has always been artistic and recalled actively participating in art contests as kid which included designing a logo for the middle school. She would participate in the Halloween store window contests as well.

Agostino most admires impressionism which definitely serves as inspiration for some of her work. She appreciates the way the light bounces off and the uses of color. In her art she works in the concept of layering.  

In one example of her work she explained that she used different layers of cardboard and acrylic paints to create a three-dimensional self portrait. When one looks at it from far away it becomes one cohesive image but when looking at it up close one can see the different layers and details. This represents the different layers to a person, she explained.  Experiencing one piece of artwork in different ways is a concept she admires.

Agostino mostly paints and recently has been working with sculpture but she is open to several mediums. She will also work in photography and she works with graphic imaging and does freelance web design.

After college she hopes to go into advertising or graphic design but is open to anything that will allow her to use her creative side. Agostino also plans to pursue her masters degree in fine arts and become an art professor.