Bard College Berlin News
Bard College Berlin Hosts its Third Art Critique Night
The Art Critique Night tradition emerged at BCB during the past academic year. John Kleckner, Professor of Arts who founded the Art Critique Nights, says that his original intention was to “bring a stronger sense of community” among the Artistic Practice and Society students.
Over the course of the evening, each artist receives 30 minutes to be critiqued. In the first 10 minutes, the audience does a cold read of the artwork and the artist is not allowed to intervene in the conversation. In the remaining 20 minutes, the artist joins the conversation, answering questions and providing insights, discussing aspects such as the vantage point, color choices, and composition.
Shelest presented three oil paintings on canvas: a cozy interior scene from a church building she stayed in during one of her visits to Prague, along with two paintings of lilies corresponding with the color palette of the larger piece. To her, the critique process feels natural and provides insightful reference ideas and interpretations. “I feel like some of the interpretations go as a tangent line to my main idea. I think they really help me move forward in my art process,” she adds.
Savin presented three pieces which combined painting, drawing, and collage. Each of these art works were connected to her Romanian identity. The first work depicted an old tram from her hometown in Romania, while the second work represented early Romanian history through folk symbolism. The final piece portrayed a little girl protester with her back turned to the viewer. She holds a sign with the slogan “Vreau să învăț în siguranță!” which translates to “I want to learn while being safe!” This work was inspired by a girl which Savin saw at a feminist march in 2024. According to Savin, the art critique emphasizes how important it is to successfully transmit your message as an artist solely through the visual. “ It also helped me to visualize what I want to do moving forward and how I want to improve my projects,” she says.
Arghushyan, a visiting student from Bennington College, presented three oil paintings with acrylic backgrounds, each depicting a woman up close. Each of the figures gazes outside of the canvas rather than at the viewer. She says that the critique helped her to take a step back and think about her art with more clarity. “At first it feels a bit disorienting because I am not used to seeing it like that. I’m used to seeing it on an easel. I am used to staring at it for hours on end in one position, so having it actually hung, and having people look at it and talk about it is really good,” Arghushyan says. Having her art critiqued by people she is not familiar with, rather than her friends or classmates, reminds Arghushyan to focus on what her intentions are and how to clearly portray them.
As Kleckner explains: “With the Artistic Practice and Society program, we really want to make it feel like an arts school within the liberal arts school.” Although an art critique takes place within each individual art course offered at BCB, through conversations with his students, he found that they desired more critiquing opportunities. Kleckner describes his main motivation to begin these critiques as creating “a chance for longer conversations, more feedback, and also a wider range of voices.”
The vast majority of classes at BCB are seminar-based, which shapes the way students interact not only with texts, but also with works of art. As Kleckner describes: “The students were eagerly participating, there was rarely a silent moment so I think that certainly speaks to the familiarity or the comfort. Students feel comfortable in a seminar, in a group discussion, to speak, to share their opinions.”
By: Hana Trenčanová '28
Post Date: 11-18-2025