Genesis Bautista Marroquin’s Artwork Chosen for LI Best Exhibit

Genesis Bautista Marroquin is gaining in confidence and stature daily. The Huntington High School sophomore is a splendid student and a rising artist. She is studying Media Art and Advanced Photography with teacher Kasmira Mohanty and making remarkable strides.

Ms. Bautista’s artwork, which she titled “Bok Choy Love,” has been chosen for display at the Heckscher Museum’s Long Island’s Best Young Artists exhibit, which will run from March 23 to May 5. Of the 456 pieces of art submitted for the show, only 87 were accepted. Ms. Bautista’s was one of them.

“This annual juried exhibition features extraordinary works of art created by Long Island high school students from across Nassau and Suffolk counties” according to the museum’s website. All student artwork was inspired by work exhibited in the museum during the 2023/24 school year.

Participants in the Long Island’s Best initiative choose a work of art in the Heckscher Museum’s collection as the starting point for their own creative process. The teenagers then interpret the respective pieces through their own art. “The quality of the artwork is exceptional and delivers a professional-level show,” exhibit organizers said.

“‘Bok Choy Love’ was inspired by Helen Torr’s ‘Sea Shell’ painting,” Ms. Bautista said. “I admire the way Torr was able to suggest waves and rippling water through her stylized interpretation of a sea shell, which specifically looks like an oyster shell to me. Like Torr, I wanted to focus on nature, lines, contrasting values, and neutral tones. I stretched my imagination to decide which materials/objects could meet these requirements.”

The teenager said she tried mushrooms, radicchio and baby bok choy as materials/objects. “The baby bok choy produced an effect and composition I liked best after cutting them in half and abstractly arranging them,” Ms. Bautista said. “I used Photoshop to accentuate the unique features of my photograph. I de-saturated the image about thirty percent to align with the neutral color palette in Torr’s ‘Sea Shell.’”

Ms. Bautista said she overlaid a sepia tone layer to heighten the focus on the lines, terrain, and shape of the bok choy. “I enjoyed creating this image so much that I plan on doing more,” she added.