2017 UO Art MFA 2nd year Exhibition

Laura Hughes  |  Stephen Milner  |  Natalie Wood  |  Alex Wurts

January 5 – January 28, 2017

Opening Reception | Thursday, January 5, 2017, 5:00 p.m.– 7:00 p.m.

Four artists in the middle of an intense period of experimentation and reflection present a group of works, while distinct in many ways, have shared moments of connection. Here you will find multiple and simultaneous detours to the absurd, irreverent, banal, and un-cool. The artists probe into their practices as it relates to the world around them individually and in close conversation as a relatively small cohort, each searching for understanding of their surroundings. Viewers are invited to differentiate between real and fake, question nostalgia, long for a purpose, and experience transformation while we take a moment to come up for air.

The 2017 UO Art MFA 2nd Year Exhibition presents the work of four MFA students in their 2nd year of Candidacy. The Department of Art MFA is an interdisciplinary program in which students are encouraged to work across disciplines, with focus in areas of sculpture, photography, painting, printmaking, digital arts, ceramics, fibers, and jewelry & metalsmithing. The curriculum combines disciplinary depth and interdisciplinary thinking, and students work closely with faculty members from every media area through graduate reviews, independent studies, and interdisciplinary courses.

The MFA program is a three-year period of rigorous studio investigation, critical discourse, and conceptual development. Emphasis is placed on developing a course of study tailored to the needs of the individual student, while encouraging exploration and risk-taking.  The program supports a thorough engagement with the processes and principles that are fundamental to each students’ discipline, as well as an informed awareness of issues and practices within the larger art community. Developing fluency in critical discourse, analysis, and writing are important parts of the MFA program, which culminates in a yearlong terminal project and group Thesis exhibition.

For more information about the exhibition please contact UO Department of Art Director of Graduate Studies Christopher Michlig directly at artgraddir@uoregon.edu

About the Department of Art:

 The Department of Art offers an innovative curriculum in both studio and digital media, ceramics, drawing, fibers, metalsmithing and jewelry, painting, printmaking, sculpture, photography and digital arts.