Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Universitys' Master’s Thesis Shows

Monica Lundy 2010

gouache on paper, 2010

May is a busy time for Universities. In the art world, the Master’s Thesis Fine Art Exhibitions is one of the most pivotal moments in an artist life. Millions of art collectors, patrons of the arts, curators, critics, other artists and friends descend on campuses to view the art of students just about to enter the competitive art market. Because these students have been studying innovative ideas, collaboration, style and refinement of their work for the last two or three years, their art may be on the cutting edge waiting to be to be scooped up by collectors. Students will use this work to contact galleries and competitions to start, or extend their art career.


I looked up MFA Thesis shows and found a few in the Bay Area. The three I picked are not a reflection of the best art work in this area; but they are the shows I had time to visit, read about or view online. I did notice most of the artists did not have their own web page -- to easily access through their University’s MFA show web site. Or could I find them on any social web site. I believe having a place to share their art would be an important tool for student to learn in this age of social networking.


It is a well know fact, if you want to start collecting art -- go to MFA Thesis Shows. Student artists are very interested in selling their art, at no commission to a gallery, for great prices.

Don’t be surprised if you run into artist egos because these students are coming off a high where they were on top of their world.


Mills College MFA Exhibition 2010

Exhibition Dates: May 2−30, 2010


My first adventure was to Mills College in Oakland. The name of their Thesis Show is Between You and Me. The exhibition is curated by Stephanie Hanor, Director of the Mills College Art Museum.Between You and Me features work by:


Nic Buron, Joey Castor, Chris Fraser, Dana Hemenway, Kija Lucas, Bobby Lukas, Monica Lundy, Kate Stirr, Adam Vermeire and Doug Williams.


Monica Lundy 2010

271, gouache on paper, 2010



Monica Lundy's investigations of historical California criminals manifest, of women who were in prison, in a series of paintings and sculpture that explore identity perception in relation to systems of social classification.

This body of work was inspired by prison archival photographs from the California State Archives in Sacramento.


These oil and gouache portraits of female inmates and the application of wet clay to the gallery wall diluted paint that pools, bleeds, and separates as it dries, creates an effect of staining or erosion; or wet clay on the wall that leaves as evidence only a trace of what was there before. “Working in this way conjures mental parallels to the corrosive nature of time on material things,” Lundy said.


Lundy has already had numerous exhibitions and has studied in painting in Florence, Italy. She received her BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. You can view more of her work at www.monicalundy.com.


This work and the other 2010 MFA student’s work can be seen through the end of this month.


Mills College 5000 MacArthur Blvd
Oakland, CA 94613
Museum Hours:

Tuesday-Sunday 11-4 pm

Wednesday 11-7:30 pm

www.mills.edu/museum



San Francisco Art Institute MFA Exhibition 2010

Runs through: 15–22 May 2010


If you can only make it to one show and really want to see a cross section of what’s happening in the contemporary art world you can’t miss the “San Francisco Art Institute MFA Graduate Exhibition, Vernissage. This show will feature work by nearly 100 artists graduating from the SF Art Institute this year.


Artists include: Maia L. Anderson, Luca Nino Antonucci, Alexis Arnold, David Bayus, Pete Belkin, Pamela Belknap, Tyler Borenstein, Percy Cannon, Reece Camp Carter, Richard Bluecloud Castaneda, Carlos Castro Arias, Alma Chaney, Kim Cook, Christina Corfield, Liz Corman, Ian Coyle, Taylor Crawley, Nicole Crescenzi, Donald Daedalus, Xiao-long Dai, Tyrone Davies, Kate Dipietro, Emily Dippo, Stephanie Dodes, Mercedes Dorame, Jason Driskill, Sara Eliassen, Carrie Elzey, Rashin Fahandej, Catherine Anne Fairbanks, Laura Boles Faw, Michael Robinson Fleming, Ferdinanda Florence, Aryk Gardea, Lindsay Gardner, Brynda Glazier, Jono Goodman, David Marc Grant, Casey Gray, Robin Griswold, Ashley Harris, Lauren Hartman, Melkorka Helgadóttir, Michael Hilt, Chris Hood, Tsen-Chu Bamboo Hsu, Neil Jernstrom, Lindsay Jordan, Hyunsun (Yuri) Jung, Amelia Layton, Jack Leamy, Ko Woon Lee, Hava Liberman, Cathy Chih Lu, Christine Lund, Julie Mallozzi, Romy Leanides Mariano, Susan Alta Martin, Margaux McAllister, Christopher Walton McLean, Carling McManus, Sonja Meller, Nicholas Conrad Miller, Mimi Moncier, Amy Morgenstern, Robert Moya, Muistardeaux Collective, Crystal Am Nelson, Karl Nelson, Jennifer Odell, Ian Alan Paul, Eric Petitti, Scott Polach, Carissa Potter, Ernest Eugene Regua, Lina María Rincón, Eric A. Roman, Lisa Mitchell-Schmaltz, Jesse Eric Schmidt, Gretchen Adelia Schneider, Stephen R. Shearer, Daniel R. Small, Marta Spurgeon, Magda Stanová, Mary Jakse Strebinger, Jen Susman, Amy R. Sweeney, Michael Ten Pas, Angela Thornton, Krissie Tosi, Paulina Velázquez Solís, Kheng-li Wee, Cascade Wilhelm, Megan Wynne, Michele Wysocki, Rochelle You, Amber Jean Young, Daniel Yovino, and Eric Zeigler.


Paulina Velázquez Solís

Solis was born in Puebla, México but moved to Costa Rica, where she obtained her BFA in Visual Arts at the National University (UNA) in printmaking with teachers such as Adrián Arguedas and Rudy Espinoza.

Her work is focused at the moment in the symbolism behind games and playful actions, using techniques such as printmaking, as well as video, animation and three-dimensional objects. In her thesis work she found discarded objects on the sidewalks in a couple of San Francisco neighborhoods. She copied the objects and printed them out on paper or on currency.


She plans to go back to Costa Rica and find job that gives her time to do her art. She also wants to open a workshop-studio-art coop.

She has also shown her work in such places as Casa de las Américas in Havana, Cuba, the Costa Rican National Gallery and the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MADC) in San José and the SUNY Gallery in New Paltz, New York.

The Thesis Show for the Art Institute will be at Fort Mason.


Vernissage

Herbst Pavilion, Fort Mason

(Marina Boulevard and Buchanan Street)

San Francisco, CA

Gallery hours: daily from 12:00 to 6:00p.m.

http://sfai.edu




San Francisco State University 2010 Thesis Show

Through May 14


Seven emerging, prolific artists present new work in textiles, sculpture, painting, conceptual and information arts, photography and printmaking. Showcasing the creativity and diversity in the SF State Art Department’s rigorous, competitive three-year M.F.A. program, these artists all exhibit their works actively throughout Northern California.


Bren Ahearn, Luke Damiani, Aaron Granich, Matt Kennedy, Taryn McCabe, Jeff Ray, and Holly Williams.


Luke Damiani 2010


Luke Damiani’s wood and metal sculpture presents as a statement on industrialism’s crude beginnings. These machines would have little use with today’s rapid farming practices. Along any highway in California old broken-down tractors, plows and carts can been seen rusting away. This work reminds me of a representation of the once thriving agrarian culture.

Damiani say, "Machinery in the modern age augments human activities, making tasks easier to perform, or freeing up labor altogether. Prior to the materialization of machinery though, people imagined mythical machines that aided them in navigating the supernatural. Both realized and imagined machinery are indicative of man’s desire to invent forms that could provide freedom from the constraints of time and place."

Damiani received his BFA from the California College of Arts & Crafts, Oakland before attending to San Francisco State University. He has worked as a gallery assistant during his time at college and will continue to show his work.


Gallery Hours: Wednesday - Saturday 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Through May 14th

Closed Sunday through Tuesday.
1600 Holloway Avenue

San Francisco

Fine Arts Building Room 238

http://art.sfsu.edu/



More On Thesis Shows:


After all the research I did through the internet I found it difficult to find accessible images of students’ work at University MFA Programs. The Master Thesis Shows' Art should be easy to find and the artists work displayed. I didn’t have all that much luck in the Bay Area finding good web sites. But I did find two from other states -- that go right to the MFA students’ thesis show. Why do most colleges neglect to have students work easily available to view on the internet? Shouldn't learning how to display their art on the internet be on the curriculum? There are too many unorganized, ugly, non-productive sites around that do more harm than good for the visibility of fresh art from the energetic group of recent graduates.


Go to these sites to see if they are easy to look through.

Emerging and established artist need to understand how to show their work through the World Wide Web.



University of Houston

http://www.class.uh.edu/blaffer/exhibit_2010_thesis.html

Massachusetts College of Art and Design


http://www.massart.edu/Galleries/Featured_Exhibitions/MFA_Thesis_10.html


Jenny Harris

Senior Editor

MYARTSPACE.com

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