An art piece was missing from the 12th annual Senior Art Exhibition on opening night.
Instead of Hot as Hell, guests saw a sign that read, “Art is meant to provoke!” placed by the artist in the empty space.
“Art is meant to provoke!” read a sign placed in the empty space where the piece Hot as Hell was meant to be displayed. COURTESY OF SOFIA GUERRA.
The art is suspected to have been stolen from the 2nd floor UC art gallery, Gallery 217, between the hours of 7 p.m. to 10 a.m., the night before the exhibit opened to the public.
Sofi a Guerra, artist and senior art and de-sign major, created the art piece during her first year in the program. The piece was a packaging concept for a hot sauce titled Hot as Hell.
“[It was] my favorite thing I had ever done,” she said of the piece that had won a 2022 Packaging Award from Graphic Design USA.
“It was the first time I allowed myself to be self-indulgent, the first time,” Guerra said.
Students from the program report the piece was missing as preparations were being made for the opening tonight. The piece was originally on display in a glass case on the second floor but was taken out and placed in the gallery Sunday. From then, it remained on display until the night before the event.
A friend of the artist reported it missing in the morning on Feb. 15.
When Gallery Director Nicholas Waguespack opened the gallery in the morning, there were tables set up inside the gallery, which students had to remove themselves.
“We had an artist leave at 7 p.m., and it was locked, and then when I came this morning, there were tables in there, so we think there might have been an event that we were not aware of,” Waguespack said.
As of now, a report has been filed with Public Safety and the Davie Police, but no further information is available at this time.
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