During their four years at Dartmouth, Molly Rouzie ’24 and Krista Schemitsch ’24 pursued distinct paths in their creative practices. Rouzie, a painter who studied studio art and Italian with a minor in art history, has spent years immersed in the arts, both as a student and through various curatorial works. Schemitsch, a psychology major on a pre-medicine track with a minor in studio art, “never thought” she would pursue art formally but “couldn’t see [herself] not doing it” after taking a few courses in the studio art department. Now, as Dartmouth studio art interns, Rouzie and Schemitsch have curated a joint exhibition of their own works titled “I Spy: The Things You See But I Know,” with paintings by Rouzie and drawings and photographs by Schemitsch.
According to Rouzie, studio art interns work in pairs to showcase their art in an exhibition. Rouzie and Schemitsch’s exhibition is the first of this year, with the second intern-curated exhibition — by Julia Lee ’24 and Peyton Bond ’24 — opening in February and a third — by Tristan MacDonald ’24 and Annie Qui ’24 — debuting in April. Studio art interns also work as a teaching assistant for two classes per term, holding monitor hours — where interns supervise the studio as students come in to work after hours — and are provided with their own studios upstairs in the Black Visual Arts Center.
“I Spy: The Things You See But I Know” includes five paintings by Rouzie and nine drawings and photographs by Schetmich. Their works of art were developed separately during the fall before the two came together to curate the exhibition, Rouzie said. With the exhibition, Rouzie and Schemitsch wanted to showcase the differences in their artworks and mediums, but also their similarities — such as Schemitsch’s use of grids and lines and Rouzie’s use of geometric shapes — to create a dynamic conversation between their pieces, according to Schemitsch.
“When it came to curating this exhibition, it was a lot of conversation of how our works interact with one another, because they are very individual to who we are,” Schemitsch said. “… But at the same time, we found a lot of similarity and overlap into what we were trying to portray.”
One piece Rouzie highlighted was a painting, titled “Chessie Ln,” of her family sitting in their living room watching, out of frame, what viewers can assume is a television. The deep cool tones of the painting bring out the few sources of light in this scene — such as the light of the screen as it glows on the subjects’ faces. Rouzie said it was the last piece she created before curating this exhibition — one that feels like “a sort of culmination” of her work during the fall.
Schemitsch said her pieces showcase the experimental work, especially with photography, she has completed during the internship program. Her collection of inkjet prints on metallic paper, for example, shows familiar scenes like her siblings sitting on the stairs and her brother playing the piano, but uses double exposure photography to make the figures appear ghost-like.
The exhibition’s theme also invites audiences to interact personally with the exhibition, according to Rouzie. She explained that she and Schemitsch wanted to add “a bit of whimsy” to the curation — leading to the title “I Spy.” More specifically, the exhibition includes an interactive game of I Spy — audiences who visit the exhibition follow the brochure through a game of I Spy, allowing people to take the time to immerse themselves into the exhibition and the artworks. Schemitsch also said she and Rouzie focused on finding a way to guide viewers through the exhibition while still allowing them to bring in their own perspectives.
“We’re cognizant of the fact that everyone comes into a gallery with their own perspectives, and so we didn’t want to limit what they were seeing, but we also wanted them to acknowledge that we do have a personal connection too,” Schemitsch said.
Miel Wewerka ’26, who visited the exhibition on Monday, said she appreciated the exhibition’s ability to create a personal connection with viewers. She added that this exhibition particularly stood out to her among others she had previously seen on campus.
“When you’re in class studying art history, you get such a special look into the thinking and context that influenced the art, you feel like you know the artist,” Wewerka said. “But, when you’re looking at art that was influenced and made by your community and peers, you feel like you know the artist who made it almost as much as yourself.”
The arrangement of the pieces also contributes to the explorative aspect of the exhibition. Rouzie and Schemitsch reimagined the exhibition layout by transforming the space into a maze-like arrangement. The result is a space that invites viewers to move through the exhibition as if solving a puzzle, discovering new details and connections between the various pieces along the way. From choosing and arranging artwork, creating an interactive game and brochure and picking a title, Rouzie said it was satisfying to see the final product.
“It’s been great working in [BVAC] and being here all day,” Rouzie said. “… You see everyone in the exhibition constantly, and that’s been so rewarding to see people with the brochure in hand and really looking at our work. It’s doing what we intended it to.”
Rouzie and Schemitsch both expressed their appreciation for the opportunity the internship program provides to hone their work and develop their skills while having access to resources and mentorship in the studio art department. Schemitsch said it gave her the opportunity to explore photography after focusing much of her undergraduate studies in drawing.
“I’ve just gained such a breadth of knowledge that I didn’t have previously, and that’s why I ultimately decided to have photographs in this show — because I believe my work has evolved so much in that realm,” Schemitsch said.
Rouzie also said the exhibition process was both an “interesting” and “different challenge” than her previous curatorial work as a Hood Museum intern and a Class of 1960 Fellow.
“It’s so interesting to curate my own work,” she said. “I’ve never curated my own work before. It’s only been students’ work or from the museum collection. … There’s such a personal connection in the process of making your work that when you curate it, I found that I had a lot more opinions than I have had in the past.”
After this internship, Rouzie said she plans to continue to work as an artist and has “so much to explore” in painting. She added that the teaching aspect of the internship has led her to find ways to incorporate both her studio practices and education into her future career. Schemitsch, who is currently on a gap year before medical school, said she is glad to have had the time to focus on her art and hopes to continue this exploration alongside her medical career.
“I’ve never had the time to just be dedicated solely to art, and I think it’s been a wonderful year, and I hope it continues to be a wonderful year of just exploring and really solidifying my practice,” she said. “… I hope that the skills I learned translate into my medical field and I hope to overlap the two.”
“I Spy: The Things You See But I Know” will be open to the public until Jan. 31.
