All That Is Lovely is a collaborative project between Alex Mihalski and Iris Skudlarek, made possible by the Undergraduate Research Grant awarded by VCUarts, and through the assistance and guidance of Professor Hillary Waters Fayle

“ This project originated as a means of understanding the difficulties we’ve experienced in the past year, and the anxiety we feel as we approach graduation. The conceptual framework of this project began as a re-contextualization of the myths of Persephone, Icarus, and Narcissus. Looking back to these fables from our current perspective, offering these young protagonists more agency and questioning the lesson we’re meant to learn.

Following in Icarus’s path we aimed a little too high, and the conceptual issues we sought to address became secondary to the challenges of bringing the work to life. This project ultimately grew to represent our daily triumphs- an exercise in patience, strength, and self reflection; in learning where to draw the line and how to balance ego end expectation. In attempting to make this body of work under the circumstances of the last year, our own strife echoed those of our protagonists. In addition to depicting these stories through our own lens, the plates, the prints, and the silks in this room are a visual representation of the battles won and lost over the last year, and a celebration of our own daily perseverance. ”