George Mason University senior Silas Fransen curated an art exhibit focused on women artists and their experiences with aging, according to a May 15 announcement from the university. The exhibition, titled “Fountain of Truth: Women Artists and Their Perspectives on Aging,” was held at the Hylton Performing Arts Center’s Buchanan Partners Gallery during the spring semester.
The exhibit highlights how female artists from different generations view and express the process of aging through their work. It featured pieces by five Washington, D.C.-area artists—Cheryl D. Edwards, Britnee Scott, Eliza Tebo, Angela Hiebert, and George Mason alum Marie Guagenti—and included a panel discussion in April moderated by Fransen. The event also included a musical performance by Tebo under her stage name Gemma Sky.
Fransen said about the experience, “It was certainly the most challenging thing I’ve done at George Mason, but I definitely want to do more projects like these.” He added that each artist brought unique perspectives: “They were all very inspiring. They each pulled out unique topics, and they each had their own takeaway from it. There is so much to be learned in just aging, and it is just a very beautiful thing to be able to get to age.”
The idea for the project originated from a paper discussed in one of Fransen’s art history classes that examined portrayals of age among male and female saints in historical artworks. Fransen said this led him to explore how contemporary women artists engage with similar themes: “I wanted to see how contemporary artists were interacting with this history or how they felt about their own aging. I was trying to place this history that had been dominated by men for a very long time back into the hands of women artists.”
Fransen worked closely with faculty mentor LaNitra Berger throughout nearly a year-long process of organizing the show—from soliciting submissions and selecting works to arranging them within the gallery space. Berger said about his efforts: “Silas had the vision, the knowledge, and the drive to organize the exhibition from start to finish, and he brought together a dynamic, diverse, and thoughtful group of women artists to have an important artistic conversation about aging.”
Looking ahead after graduating in May, Fransen plans a gap year before pursuing graduate studies in art history. He credited his coursework at George Mason University for preparing him for future roles as either a museum curator or college professor involved with exhibitions.
