gallery archive







welcome to the BASEMENT archive!

our latest publication






Publication 0
Welcome to the Basement

December 8, 2023



Publication 1
New Year, New Publication

February 2th, 2024



Publication 2
Rebirth

April 21th, 2024



Publication 3
Sunkissed

May 27th, 2024Editor's Note:

Welcome to our third and final publication of the school year! This publication, Sunkissed, looks towards the summer while marking a transition for this site into the upcoming school year. Our senior editors and creators of this site, Lauren Higgins and Sebastion Rojas-Rincon, will be graduating at the end of this quarter; as the future editors of this publication, we will work our hardest to continue furthering the development of this creative space. 

So in regards to their graduation, we would like to give a huge thank you to Lauren and Sebastian for creating this community for the School of Art students to share their works. 

We will miss you, and we wish you luck in your future endeavors. We can't wait to see what you do! 
And to all the artists: Stay connected with us! Check through our Instagram and website for the latest updates for the summer.

Olivia Wehr & Anika Kothari





Publication 4
Misted

December 4th, 2024Editor's Note:

Welcome to our first publication of the school year! We are so excited to be back and running this incredible site. This publication, titled Misted, brings in the beginnings of the year, casting a vision for the future of this gallery. With our first ever in-person show, we are thrilled to see what this year has to offer in connecting further with artists within the UW School of Art. 

With that in mind, we would like to extend a special thanks to Zoe Kackman, Hannah Ahn, Jadelyn Drake, and Madison Shimkus for bringing this site together. Our team has been incredibly helpful and driven in launching this publication and planning out the art show. We would not be here without their efforts towards the site; it has been so exciting to work with them.

In recognition of the immense work from our team and the artists that have submitted to Misted, thank you endlessly! See you soon!


Olivia Wehr & Anika Kothari




Publication 5
Forget me (Not)

February 28th, 2025
Representing the ways of which we become the spaces we occupy. Leaning into an embrace, following existing footsteps in the frost, smudging handprints on glass, lingering on places we are and places we are not. In our daily interactions with the world, we run into traces and imprints of people we have never met and similarly, we leave an unconscious record of ourselves. Forget me (not) comes from a question of what it means to be defined by a space and our lingering presence in people we don’t know. In our habitual routines and fleeting memories of places and people we hold on to, we become an extension of ourselves built from moments that no longer exist. 


Publication 6
What I hold, What we hold:
Political Art as Resistance

May 10th, 2025


The weight of continuous collective grief, the hope harbored for the future, and the persistent dedication to pressing issues is held by many. What I hold, what we hold: Political Art as Resistance prompts you to place that weight into artistic activism; How do you challenge the status quo? How do we use art in an act of resistance, identity, and organizing?




Publication 7
all roads lead to [my friend alice]

Novermber 22th, 2025

all roads lead to [my friend alice] explores unexpected and expected guiding patterns. Each day we find patterns in what we observe and what we return to. Investigate the patterns that stand out. Are these expected and welcomed? Or are they unexpected and unwelcome yet followed? What are these patterns and where do they take you?

There are patterns in the journey. Blue-striped pants on Wednesday, black coffee before class, heading to the train at 7 AM, fish feeding at 3 PM, bagel bite dinner at 6 PM; all before calling [alice]. 




Publication 8
Grounded Beef

March 5th, 2026



Grounded Beef examines the packaged feelings that we keep hidden.  
Things being inside other things–beef in your tummy, anger in your mind, whimsy in your heart. 

How did these things get there? What are you consuming and how does that transform you? Or are you the one being consumed? We ask artists to take off the plastic and cook us a meal with your beef. Serve us something bold and hungry. Digest what is lingering. 

Or maybe it's rotten and time to throw it out.




the BASEMENTPublication #07



The Clocks in the Background are a Salvador Dali Reference 




Aaron Harris



 Willow charcoal, charcoal pencil


2027
                
This drawing uses surrealist elements of repetition and absurdity to create a cataclysmic and insanity-endusing event which results in me being forced to lose my right hand, my dominant hand. It follows a new fear of mine I developed after breaking my arm in a bike crash, which left me in a cast for several months, unable to make art. I began to wonder what my life would be like if this was permanent. What would happen to us, as artists, if we lost our abilities to make art? Who would we even be? Would I lose what made me who I am? Why does my entire future rely on the performance of this one fragile limb? 

I've come to the haunting yet reassuring realization that my art IS me. All I am is my art. Without it, I am not me. But as long as I am here, my art will still take form, in whatever shape it must to allow me to survive.

concentration: Painting + Drawing
@aaronhaaron










the BASEMENTPublication #07



footsteps




Aldo Giannini



photography



2027
                
I personally feel like the most powerful images are the ones that can show love, my work comes from a place of love and I feel like when the two connect it creates work that feels more genuine and real. 


concentration: Photo/Media
@aldogiannini_









the BASEMENTPublication #07



Untitled


Alejandro Roca



Acrylic on board. 3’ x 2’



2027
                
Patterns. When I am painting dots, endless fields of little circles.

Patterns. One after another. 

Patterns. The hands of the clock move in their cycles. 

Patterns. Once around. 

Patterns. Another time around. 

Patterns. Again and again. 

Patterns. And again. 

Patterns. The image is emerging, little bit by little bit. 

Patterns. A little bit like weaving, or quilting? Or not really like either of those I wouldn't know. 

Patterns. Cyan and yellow make green. 

Patterns. Maybe cross stitch.

Patterns. Only seen from a distance. 

Patterns. The hands of the clock move in their cycles.

Patterns. Patterns.

Patterns. A million little circles.

Patterns. One after another.




concentration: Photo/Media









the BASEMENTPublication #07



My Life In Frames




Faina Abdrasil


 Oil paint on canvas. 24” x 30”



2027
                
I view my life through artistic frames, and these frames have become the guiding patterns by which I observe the world. My eyes and mind are constantly composing — arranging forms, light, and emotion into visual harmony. When I walk through the city, admire architecture, or catch a glimpse of a landscape unfolding at the corner of a street, I instinctively “frame” it. This pattern follows me everywhere: in conversations, in films, in fleeting reflections of light on glass.

These moments form the rhythm of my journey — expected yet endlessly surprising. They remind me that the act of seeing is not passive but deeply creative. My art emerges from this continuous dialogue between the outer world and my inner vision. Each frame becomes a poetic moment, a way of mapping where observation and imagination meet. These patterns of perception ultimately shape the road I follow — the artistic journey I call My Life In Frames.



concentration: Painting + Drawing
@embersartwall







the BASEMENTPublication #07



Why Didn't He Remember Me?



Jacob Menday



 Oil on mylar, 9”x12” 



2026
                
A while ago I ran into an old professor who had a big impact on me, and when I said hi and waved to him he looked back at me with a look of fear and confusion, as if I was going to mug him after my warmly greeting. I often wonder what I looked like in that moment in his eyes. This painting is of this very teacher, but done entirely from my own memory of him. He still looks differently in my head than how he looks in this painting, although not as green...
 


concentration: Painting + Drawing
@jonaldboi












the BASEMENTPublication #07



dahlia



Joscelyn Courtenay



photography



2029
                
The only pattern is abstraction. oh this new place



concentration: Photo/Media
@joscelynskye @ephemeralpleasuress







the BASEMENTPublication #07



All roAds leAd to perfection




Lisa Chou


Inkjet print, 13” x 19”





2027
                
Every day, everyone wakes up ready to fight for their life. Some people want to be rich, some want to be famous, some seek peace, and some are still figuring out what they truly want. But we are all working hard, for what? According to terror management theory, we strive to prove our value in order to boost our self-esteem and overcome our fear of death. To feel successful, we chase perfection. We believe that being perfect, or becoming a master in a certain field, will lead us to success.

However, if we look more closely at the details of life, we realize that perfection simply does not exist. Life is beautiful and fun precisely because it is built from imperfections. When we take a step back and view life from a broader perspective, all those imperfections blend together to create something meaningful. Something perfectly imperfect.
 
concentration: Photo/Media
@chenyuuuu_1025







the BASEMENTPublication #07



Old Friends





Matisse Lebastchi


oil, watercolor, acrylic, tissue paper, 
and lace on canvas, 12” x 16”



2026
                
Clowns are an icon I’ve always seemed to return to. Bright, colorful performers that are also a common fear. Yet, they were originally created to entertain and reflect the world’s current problems back to us in a humorous way. So in reality, we all may find ourselves relating to clowns at some point in our own lives. I personally see them as old friends.


 
concentration: Painting + Drawing
@mothwifu, @bunnirot  







the BASEMENTPublication #07



Crochet Blanket



Nancy Liu

 Acrylic yarn, 60”x82” 




2026
                
I started this blanket during my freshman year of college and, after long pauses and brief restarts, only recently finished it. Through years of different dorms, apartments, houses, I found this piece to be a crucial constant in my life, even as myself and those around me continued growing (maybe just like this blanket).


 
concentration:  Art History
@nancyjliu



 

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