Press Releases
MFA THESIS EXHIBITIONS BEGIN MARCH 24
Lincoln, Neb.—A series of three MFA Thesis Exhibitions opens March 24 at the Eisentrager-Howard Gallery in Richards Hall.
MFA Thesis Exhibition I will run March 24-28. Amanda Smith, Sherry Black and Eriko Fujita will be presenting their work in this exhibition. A reception will be held March 28 from 5-7 p.m. in the Gallery.
Amanda Smith's exhibition is entitled "specious | spacious" and explores the synthesis of real and contrived environments. Her paintings present the ambivalence of contemporary spatial experience by integrating dual spaces into single environment, relying upon the confusion of actual locations, settings found in film and popular media and spaces formed in memory. Smith received her B.A. in 2005 from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Wash. She is a Kimmel Fellow and the 2006 recipient of the Dan and Barbara Howard Award for Creative Achievement.
Black's thesis is entitled "Somatic Trace: Prints and Drawings." Her work explores the somatic space of the body. Prints and drawings in the exhibition map the proximal space around the body. Black is from Utah, where she attended Utah State University. She earned a B.F.A. with an emphasis in drawing graduating in 2003. She received a national grant from the Southern Graphics Council in 2006.
Eriko Fujita's exhibition is entitled "Installation: Recent Work." Her exhibition will include screenprints and mixed media works that comment on current events and cultural conflicts. Fujita was born in Japan. She received a B.F.A. in printmaking from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania in 2004.
MFA Thesis Exhibition II runs March 31-April 4 and includes the work of Maranda Allbritten and Erika Navarrete. A reception will be held April 4 from 5-7 p.m. in the Gallery.
Navarrete's exhibition is entitled "Good Girl." Her work follows themes dealing with relationships, absurd and amusing actions, touch and vulnerable moments that take place in environments dominated by girls and women. The posture and expression of the characters and the utilization of color, light and invention contribute to the psychology of the paintings and drawings that will be included in the exhibition. Navarrette received her BFA in painting and art history in 2003 from the Kansas City Art Institute. She is an active member of the local artistic community, volunteering at the Haydon Art Center. She recently was awarded the Hispanic Scholarship Fund/McNamara Creative Arts Project Grant, which funded the creation of a substantial body of work.
Information on Allbritten's exhibition was not available at press time.
The final MFA Thesis Exhibition will run April 7-11 and includes the work of Xanthe Isbister, Susan Dewsnap and Anne Ruehrmund. A reception will be held April 11 from 5-7 p.m. in the Gallery.
Isbister's exhibition consists of large ceramic sculptures. Her ceramic sculpture possesses both simple and complex characteristics that are aesthetically derived from the untouched wilderness. Specifically, her research reflects her attraction to the natural architecture and landscape within the boreal forests of central Canada. This vast, rocky terrain conveys a sense of timelessness, and she seeks to capture a point in time from this ever changing environment. Isbister received her BFA with honors in ceramics from the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Dewsnap's work uses simple ceramic pottery forms to explore the inherent tension between a three-dimensional object and the way in which a painted surface can only be viewed from one vantage point at a time. She received a BFA in painting from the University of New Hampshire. Her ceramics education was gleaned through the workshop settings of Haystack Mountain School in Deer Isle, Maine, and The Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina, where she spent her yearly allotment of time away from a paralegal job.
"Anne Ruehrmund, Recent Work" includes drawings, paintings, prints and installation involving decorative objects and toys in surreal narratives that deal with sentimentality, vulnerability and protection. Ruehrmund is from Virginia Beach, Va., and completed her undergraduate degree in art at the University of Richmond. She also studied printmaking at Curtain University in Perth, Australia.
Gallery hours for all the MFA Thesis Exhibitions are Monday-Friday, noon to 4 p.m.
For more information, call the Department of Art and Art History at (402) 472-5522.
