Millbrook School showcases student talent at Warner Gallery

MILLBROOK — The Warner Gallery at the Millbrook School has opened its spring exhibition, the Honors Art Show, transforming a space that often features professional artists into a showcase of student work from around the world.

The annual exhibition highlights work by seniors enrolled in Millbrook School’s honors visual arts programs, offering a culmination of years of study across photography, ceramics, painting and drawing.

Senior Estee O’Brien, a boarding student from Bedford, NY, has studied photography at Millbrook for several years. She reflected on her artistic evolution in her final year.

“I don’t usually shoot black and white — I love color — but for this project I wanted to focus more on details, fabrics, and faces,” O’Brien said, adding that the loss of color initially made her feel disconnected from her work. To bring a bit of “shine” back to her portraits, she bedazzled certain parts of each black and white image with silver gems.

O’Brien – who earned several regional Scholastic Art Awards – said the exhibition feels like a culmination of everything she and her peers have been working toward.

“There are a lot of shared themes featured in this exhibition, especially around graduating – there’s excitement, but also fear and nostalgia,” said Sarah MacWright, who teaches honors photography and has students featured in the show.

Among them is Eason Wang, a senior boarding student from Beijing, China, whose work leans symbolic and experimental, often reflecting anticipation for life beyond Millbrook. One image depicts a diploma surrounded by snow.

“I am still here, in my final year, moving through a winter that feels longer than the other three seasons,” Wang wrote in his artist statement. “My mind has already moved forward even though my body is still stuck in my high school dorm room.”

In another medium, senior Islay MacGown of Sag Harbor, New York, presents a series of large-format oil and acrylic paintings created in her honors drawing and painting class.

“I think this year was my year,” MacGown said. “I feel like I really grew.”

Her work ranges from warm-toned portraits featuring female figures to cooler, more contemplative scenes, including one of two girls standing on rocks overlooking the ocean.

“Usually my paintings take a couple months, but this one took about a week – I didn’t expect that,” she added.

Senior Nga Ho, a boarding student from Vietnam, drew on memory and distance in her work.

“I was feeling a little homesick,” Ho said. “I kept going back to this idea of home in Vietnam, and building the piece from that.”

She described the painting as dreamlike – “when you think about a place and time, but you can’t fully see it.”

Kiernan Pazdar, who directs the gallery and teaches honors drawing and painting, said the program is designed to help students develop an independent studio practice.

“They learn how to sustain their work, find their voice and grow technically,” Pazdar said. Each student has their own studio space, which allows them to work independently and commit to their process.

Pazdar and MacWright said the exhibition often surprises visitors with the depth and sophistication of student work.

“Having students from all over the world brings a range of perspectives that really shapes the work and conversations,” Pazdar said.

The Warner Gallery is located at the Millbrook School at 131 Millbrook School Road and is open Monday through Friday during regular school hours. Appointments can be arranged through Millbrook School’s admission office.