BFA & MFA Thesis Exhibitions at the Dorsky Museum, April 29 – May 24

The School of Fine & Performing Arts, Department of Art, and Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art at SUNY New Paltz are thrilled to present the work of our 2022 Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts candidates in the Dorsky Museum.

The Spring ’22 BFA/MFA Thesis Exhibitions will be on view from April 29 – May 24, 2022, in The Dorsky’s Alice and Horace Chandler Gallery and North Gallery.

“The BFA/MFA thesis exhibitions allow for an opportunity to reflect, as a community, on the extraordinary work of our graduating students, who have persevered and continued creating during this historic period of challenge and loss,” said Department of Art Professor Thomas Albrecht, associate dean of the School of Fine & Performing Arts and chair of the Department of Art.

“Negotiating the pandemic, with its constant interruptions and ambient anxiety, has infused our students’ work with a sense of earnest care and consideration coupled with a passionate sense of experimentation,” said Department of Art Professor and Graduate Coordinator Matthew Friday. “Unique about this cohort is their ability to balance a sense of hope and appreciation for radical beauty. Their work is sincere, thoughtful and complex and, when critically rejecting the status quo, offers visions of alternate perspectives.”

Serving as the pinnacle event of the BFA and MFA student experience, thesis exhibitions offer student-artists the chance to publicly display the works they’ve been diligently creating and refining throughout their years at New Paltz. Students help each other in planning their exhibitions, with guidance from faculty and museum staff, and design and install their own work.

“We are always so proud to exhibit the work of our excellent graduates at the culmination of their studies,” said Amy Pickering, coordinator of communications for The Dorsky Museum. “It is an honor to be a part of the presentation of their art as they share it with family and friends before setting off to the next stage of their lives.”

 

About the Exhibitions

The BFA/MFA thesis exhibitions are held in four installments—BFA I, BFA II, MFA I, and MFA II—with each phase on display for five days. The participants, by date, are as follows:

BFA I, April 29–May 3: Bizzy Acierno (Painting & Drawing), Alex Bennett (Photography), Zoey Calison (Photography), Christopher D’Antonio (Printmaking), Erin Dougherty (Sculpture), Alyssa Dudinyak (Painting & Drawing), Samantha Fried (Painting & Drawing), Rosemary Howard (Painting & Drawing), Seth Jones (Photography), Carlin McPhee (Painting & Drawing), Andy Valk (Painting & Drawing)

BFA II, May 6–10: Eric Afflerbach (Photography), Victoria Bogdanski (Ceramics), Marielena Ferrer (Sculpture), Foley (Metal), Schuyler Forsythe (Ceramics), Yifei Kong (Metal), Mikayla Millard (Photography), Kiley Murphy (Metal), Destiny O’Neill (Printmaking), Cynthia Walker (Ceramics)

MFA I, May 13–17: Lital Dotan  (Sculpture), Daewoon Jeong  (Metal), Emilie Houssart (Sculpture), Heather Michaud (Painting & Drawing), Nicki Robibero (Painting & Drawing), Amber Synnett (Painting & Drawing), Avery Wells (Ceramics), Xuewu Zheng (Painting & Drawing)

MFA II, May 20–24: Sulo Bee (Metal), Michael Bodnar (Painting & Drawing), Funlola  (Metal), Jackson Hardin (Photography & Related Media), Elizabeth Hunt (Printmaking), Koyoltzintli (Photography & Related Media), Gregg Rivas (Painting & Drawing)

 

About The Dorsky Museum 

Through its collections, exhibitions and public programs, the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art supports and enriches the academic programs at the College and serves as a center for Hudson Valley arts and culture. With more than 9,000 square feet of exhibition space distributed over six galleries, The Dorsky Museum is one of the largest museums in the SUNY system. Since its official dedication in 2001, The Dorsky has presented more than 100 exhibitions, including commissions, collection-based projects, and in-depth studies of contemporary artists including Robert Morris, Alice Neel, Judy Pfaff, Carolee Schneemann and Ushio Shinohara.

Funding for The Dorsky’s exhibitions and programs is provided by the Friends of the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art and SUNY New Paltz.

Museum Hours: Wednesday–Sunday, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Closed Mondays, Tuesdays, holidays and intersessions.

For more information about The Dorsky Museum and its programs, visit http://www.newpaltz.edu/museum or call (845) 257-3844.