Daydreams – MFA Exhibition Online – University of Montana

This online exhibition brings together the diverse works of current national and international graduate students working and dreaming across mediums within the visual arts. Daydreams are an escape from reality – an escape that gives us room to breathe, to create, and to hope. In daydreams, the present melts away and the possibilities of the future feel as real as the here and now. For many, artists included, daydreams can be launchpads for new ideas or soft places to land when the world gets loud.

Jurors
MFA students from the University of Montana, Lexie Loader, Lilly Bennett, Megan Foster, Emily Mulvaney and Montana State University, Morgan Kemp, Nicholas Kraus, Tiana Godfrey, Kristen Hedge.

'Recurring Headstones' Benjamin Kaita
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
BEST IN SHOW AWARD

My artwork displays the loss of my Japanese Heritage through my family’s intergenerational experiences in the United States. By Pairing the remnants of my family’s artifacts and stories with the Japanese American Internment Camps in my artwork, I reattach my lost Japanese identity with my more dominant American reality. Multiple types of techniques, materials, and imagery are layered on to one of my collaged paintings……Certain layers are seamless with some and dissonant with others to question what right I have to appropriate imagery from a history I wasn’t there for, culture I never experienced, and family that is now gone. The figures in my paintings also do not know what belongs to them, making them isolated in a fragmented landscape of things that aren’t theirs.
'Ama Wearing a Gold Bracelet' Bright Konrot Osei
Ohio University
FIRST PLACE AWARD

Growing up in Sunyani, the capital city of Ghana’s Bono Region, I witnessed the struggles of those involved in street life. My parents owned a small thrift store selling second-hand clothing, and as a teenager, I began working for my father’s street business. Through that, I realized that Ghanaian society does not highly regard street people despite the hard work put in by these individuals to make a living….Therefore, I aim to convey dignity and respect for my subjects through mixed-media portraits, text paintings, and drawings on canvas and paper using lightfast acrylic paint, charcoal, gold leaf, and Ankara fabric. My pieces showcase intricate details alongside vibrant colors and patterns, and the accompanying text paintings share the autobiographical stories of each figure. Beyond that, my landscape drawings depict the hustle and bustle of urban spaces, traffic flow, and movement of goods in Ghana’s city streets to inspire conversations about the marginalized areas where street people engage in activities….My art seeks to restore pride in underprivileged people and spark discussions on societal marginalization. I firmly believe that every society should strive for equality and treat its vulnerable population with dignity.
'Feel Your Weight' Cindy Hill
University of Guelph
SECOND PLACE AWARD

In my practice, I use found objects and textiles to examine the relationship between design aesthetics and perceptions of the body. My work reflects on the history of health and sexuality amongst women, re-contextualizing objects used to treat and care for the body. Engaging with themes of intimacy, care, and desire, my work draws from personal experiences to explore the complexities of somatic and feminist discourses. 'Feel your weight' is a weighted blanket made entirely of garden stones, each individually hand-sewn between suit lining and silk chiffon. This is part of an ongoing series I am working on in my MFA about sleep. I am interested in the vulnerability the state of sleep demands from us. This work explores the complexities of comfort and anxiety that exist simultaneously in the body when sharing that space with others or when revisiting the memory of that space alone. 'Find your way back' mimics a fence made of velvet. It explores the momentos, ribbons, and lost items which are often hung on fences as markers. I am interested in how these fences and markers can act as symbols of grief, hope, danger, safety, loss, and solidarity..
'Continental Divide Country United' Jill Kyong
University of Idaho
THIRD PLACE AWARD

Election results from 2016 are etched into one side of this sculpture. The Left’s votes and the Right’s votes correspond with the left and right columns. On the opposite side of the sculpture, the 2020 election results are etched in the same orientation. The result is that each square form has the Left and the Right’s votes, bringing the two sides together. This piece is about dreaming of a country united. Viewers are invited to take water bottles from the shelf on the wall and pour the water into the basin. The water drips onto a peak, falls on either side, and is then united as the water gathers in the pan below.
'Night Dress_ University of Texas' Angeles Salinas
San Antonio
JURORS CHOICE AWARD

The expression of the permanent dialog occurring in the psyche of a middle-aged Mexican ex-patriate is the main subject in my artwork. It depicts a cumulus of experiences and life occurrences that continuously steer the personal path toward eventful situations that modify the perception of the self. It is a search for the self through the examination of statements of faith, a sense of displacement, beliefs of belonging, ideas of existence, and acceptance of the human condition….There is a constant use of juxtaposed images and ideas in pursuit of balance for experienced concepts like life v. death, faith v. despair, and innocence v. corruption. A strong degree of fetishism is embedded in the materials that comprise the work. The ritualistic mechanics of these have a nostalgic reminiscence of my childhood, Mexican heritage, and domesticity. The mixture of elements helps the artwork achieve, at first glance, a whimsical feeling, after a moment the under-layered content surreptitiously emerges. The exchange then proves to be more irreverent and biting than innocent. My artwork is not only denunciatory, the solution is presented within. The balance is pursued by the nurturing and creative power of the female perspective.
'Voices of a Revolution' Behnaz Fatemi
University of Waterloo
JURORS CHOICE AWARD

Voices of a Revolution is a wearable sound sculpture dedicated to the ‘Woman Life Freedom’ revolution in Iran. When worn, the large pyramid-shaped “helmet” plays sounds documented during Waterloo Region protests that occurred in response to the devastating death of Mahsa (Jina) Amini, which sparked mass outcry all over the world. The installation is a personal tribute to the bravery and resilience of the protesters, especially women in Iran who have risked taking to the streets in the face of extreme adversity…The cement-looking helmet sculpture made of paper mache represents a solid and safe place of refuge through its evocation of concrete, a refuge from the extreme stress, tension, and trauma I and many in Iran experience daily while loved ones are lost or in danger. The interactive installation welcomes participants into its isolated atmosphere, facilitating a space where the wearer can immerse themselves into an auditory world of chants and slogans evoking these mass protests worldwide through a soundtrack of resistance. Through this installation, I endeavor to shed light on the experiences of those who live under oppressive regimes and to raise awareness about the importance of protecting civil rights and social freedoms, amplifying the voices of the revolution.
'TickTockTickTock' Lolo Gem
Towson University
JURORS CHOICE AWARD

Working with a combination of acrylic paint and drawing materials, Gem creates playfully absurd work featuring ambiguous implications of familiar figures, sentient calligraphic lines, exuberant motion, and personified objects. Gem borrows detached, insignificant moments from vintage animation and comics to elevate the overlooked by illustrating unsayable, complex states of mind.
'Imprinted' Monica Hamilton
University of Connecticut
JURORS CHOICE AWARD
'Eyehole for a Shapeshifter' Nicole Crozier
Concordia University
JURORS CHOICE AWARD

While my practice is currently in a state of transition, a constant thread weaves through my work: the feminized figure. I’m fascinated less by her body and more by her image, her look: how she is portrayed, self-presents and self-commodifies. I’m interested in how her internal self is represented externally, as a consumable product, object or idea, and in how this representation is necessarily a construction. My figures often exist in a state of anxious suspension, caught between two or more ways of being. Aesthetically, I aim to create works that simultaneously seduce and unsettle the viewer as a means of investigating this ambivalence….Viewed from the perspective of "Daydreams", these pieces could occupy a transitional dream state of self – a figure emerging into being, a face that feels familiar yet mask-like. Who is she? She seems close and familiar, yet impossible to touch.
'Glaucoma' Rana Tiba
Iowa State University
JURORS CHOICE AWARD
'White Horse with Yellow' Sarah Faith Strait
Miami University
JURORS CHOICE AWARD

The story of the horse and its history with humankind is a complex and tragic one, where its agency and spirit have been harnessed and exploited for the advancement of human endeavors. I hold a great reverence for the horse and its experience in our world. In my paintings the horse is not a particular animal, but rather an idea and a feeling sparked by the inherent energy and history of all horses. The horse, for me, is a hero, a myth, a motif that inspires and embodies a sense of meaning and hope….The image of the horse holds power through the ritual act of my painting it. For me, it is a process of reification : an abstract idea made concrete and physical. My paintings are meditations on this mythic symbol and its tether to my own personal history. In my work, the integrity of the horse is broken down, fragmented, and re-imagined, suggesting potential movement and the passage of time. Form, color, and marks vibrate between abstraction and representation. Through the reconstruction of anthropomorphic gestures, conventional conceptual symbols of the horse are reformed into new ways of seeing, further broadening my perception and understanding of the world around me, and, I hope, for the viewer of my paintings as well.
'There was something different about this New Years Eve' Mara Cressey
Missouri State University

My work depicts the events that progress during a singular, made-up night in which a party is taking place. Using oil paint as my primary medium, I create multi-figure works that feature reoccurring characters, various narratives, and complex relationships and emotions associated with the individuals I depict. Within this painted realm, I incorporate portrayals of a more confident, assertive version of myself, or alter ego, who exists alongside these various characters. Drawing inspiration from early-Renaissance compositional strategies, I paint on large-scale, curved canvas and paper to indicate a sense of prominence and divinity, while simultaneously suggesting domestic, interior spaces, two ideas not commonly associated with one another. The narratives, characters, and text that I illustrate often stem from or are influenced by real life situations in which I wish I could have come across as more self-assured. Ultimately, my work promotes keen social observance and personal reflection and confidence; it provides an opportunity to build worlds in which the characters I have created, including this second self, are able to exist permanently.
'Daydream' Ana Ramos
University of Texas Rio, Grande Valley
'Nihilistic' Angeles Salinas
University of Texas, San Antonio

The expression of the permanent dialog occurring in the psyche of a middle-aged Mexican ex-patriate is the main subject in my artwork. It depicts a cumulus of experiences and life occurrences that continuously steer the personal path toward eventful situations that modify the perception of the self. It is a search for the self through the examination of statements of faith, a sense of displacement, beliefs of belonging, ideas of existence, and acceptance of the human condition….There is a constant use of juxtaposed images and ideas in pursuit of balance for experienced concepts like life v. death, faith v. despair, and innocence v. corruption. A strong degree of fetishism is embedded in the materials that comprise the work. The ritualistic mechanics of these have a nostalgic reminiscence of my childhood, Mexican heritage, and domesticity. The mixture of elements helps the artwork achieve, at first glance, a whimsical feeling, after a moment the under-layered content surreptitiously emerges. The exchange then proves to be more irreverent and biting than innocent. My artwork is not only denunciatory, the solution is presented within. The balance is pursued by the nurturing and creative power of the female perspective.
'Slow Stitched Navigation' Basu Malini
Minneapolis College of Art and Design

,em>Slow-Stitched Navigation - Through making this jacket, I leaned into slower modes of traversing the city. I focused on building an observational practice for myself - using objects found on the sidewalks as cues to look up and take note of my surroundings. I gradually built out my own mental map by tying the object to the surrounding intersection, the plants in season around me, the smells, the cracks in the sidewalks, my personal memories in that area. This practice led to tactile explorations of how I can connect my body to my movements through a place.
'Fixed Exhibits' Benjamin Kaita
Southern Illinois University Carbondale

My artwork displays the loss of my Japanese Heritage through my family’s intergenerational experiences in the United States. By Pairing the remnants of my family’s artifacts and stories with the Japanese American Internment Camps in my artwork, I reattach my lost Japanese identity with my more dominant American reality. Multiple types of techniques, materials, and imagery are layered on to one of my collaged paintings……Certain layers are seamless with some and dissonant with others to question what right I have to appropriate imagery from a history I wasn’t there for, culture I never experienced, and family that is now gone. The figures in my paintings also do not know what belongs to them, making them isolated in a fragmented landscape of things that aren’t theirs.
'Staged Imitations' Benjamin Kaita
Southern Illinois University Carbondale

My artwork displays the loss of my Japanese Heritage through my family’s intergenerational experiences in the United States. By Pairing the remnants of my family’s artifacts and stories with the Japanese American Internment Camps in my artwork, I reattach my lost Japanese identity with my more dominant American reality. Multiple types of techniques, materials, and imagery are layered on to one of my collaged paintings……Certain layers are seamless with some and dissonant with others to question what right I have to appropriate imagery from a history I wasn’t there for, culture I never experienced, and family that is now gone. The figures in my paintings also do not know what belongs to them, making them isolated in a fragmented landscape of things that aren’t theirs.
'Benedicta' Bright Contour Osei
Ohio University

Growing up in Sunyani, the capital city of Ghana’s Bono Region, I witnessed the struggles of those involved in street life. My parents owned a small thrift store selling second-hand clothing, and as a teenager, I began working for my father’s street business. Through that, I realized that Ghanaian society does not highly regard street people despite the hard work put in by these individuals to make a living….Therefore, I aim to convey dignity and respect for my subjects through mixed-media portraits, text paintings, and drawings on canvas and paper using lightfast acrylic paint, charcoal, gold leaf, and Ankara fabric. My pieces showcase intricate details alongside vibrant colors and patterns, and the accompanying text paintings share the autobiographical stories of each figure. Beyond that, my landscape drawings depict the hustle and bustle of urban spaces, traffic flow, and movement of goods in Ghana’s city streets to inspire conversations about the marginalized areas where street people engage in activities….My art seeks to restore pride in underprivileged people and spark discussions on societal marginalization. I firmly believe that every society should strive for equality and treat its vulnerable population with dignity.
'A Distant Memory' Brookelle Peterson
Wichita State University
'Clocktower' CJ Carter
University of Oklahoma

I take inspiration from our natural and historical man-made environments. We are molded by what surrounds us, and I believe these decisions both shape and are shaped by our character. Living in a boarding school, a prison, or an Italian castle would all impact our development differently. However, we are not entirely at the mercy of these spaces, as they are merely the mold that our choices fill…Like our buildings, we humans are vulnerable and require upkeep. We seek perfection but are hopelessly handbuilt. We spend so much time nurturing and tending to our facades, but are lonely if no one takes the time to notice what we contain. We want to live in beautiful yet functional spaces that are secure but also near others. We want privacy and floor-to-ceiling windows….These contradictions fascinate me. I want viewers to reconsider their notions of both power and beauty with my work, as I give strength to bodies that are historically denied power. If my viewers see strength that is simultaneously masculine and feminine, impressive yet relatable, delicate yet enduring, then I will have been successful.
'Lighthouse' CJ Carter
University of Oklahoma

I take inspiration from our natural and historical man-made environments. We are molded by what surrounds us, and I believe these decisions both shape and are shaped by our character. Living in a boarding school, a prison, or an Italian castle would all impact our development differently. However, we are not entirely at the mercy of these spaces, as they are merely the mold that our choices fill…Like our buildings, we humans are vulnerable and require upkeep. We seek perfection but are hopelessly handbuilt. We spend so much time nurturing and tending to our facades, but are lonely if no one takes the time to notice what we contain. We want to live in beautiful yet functional spaces that are secure but also near others. We want privacy and floor-to-ceiling windows….These contradictions fascinate me. I want viewers to reconsider their notions of both power and beauty with my work, as I give strength to bodies that are historically denied power. If my viewers see strength that is simultaneously masculine and feminine, impressive yet relatable, delicate yet enduring, then I will have been successful.
'Intimate Monument' Danica Olders
Concordia University

Danica Olders is an artist interested in space. Not like outer space but the space between people; the distance from a person to their connected walls/objects, the ownership felt of said spaces and the interactive energy possessed by them…Her work uses multidisciplinary approaches to design environments (installations) to explore human behaviour in relation to space and place. Older’s activates narratives by suggesting movement and engagement with objects in space that directly impose on or reflect everyday architectural things like monuments, architectural features and precious objects. She uses these familiar things and recreates them on a personal scale, opening up portals for the mind to pass through and the body to move through. Olders’ creates spaces for self reflection and critique, to play out social pressures and cultural mores like marriage, religion and leisure that manipulate the ability to quantify time and achievement. By simply studying routines and the practices of everyday life she hopes to understand what draws humans to claim spaces and appropriate places, asking if it’s possible to change?
'Souvenir' David Morrison
University of Oklahoma

Sparks fly when I encounter a vibrant fragment. With a curious mind, I am drawn to the pops of colors, values and forms scattered about our streets and fields. These curiously-gathered shards amass in the library of fragments in my studio. Through my crafted repository of found and made objects, I have created a multitude of opportunities to play, seeking to explore the wonder I first felt when foraging. Working in the framework of play my practice uses ceramics and altered plastic objects to recontextualize the foraged junk within objects. Play is a tool and a practice I engage to challenge the consumer structures we exist within, creating wonder, curiosity and a desire to pause and play. My assembling process is slow, in opposition to the pace at which we consume. These slow observations in my practice, from gathering to making, enhances and reinforces the curiosity in the environments I inhabit, as I process the decay, beauty, and lingering plastic. Responding to the vignettes I see within my immediate environment; I create micro landscapes through a playful lens that translate the world through my perspective, translating the beautiful haunting altered landscape we inhabit into perceptible scale.
'Illegal Mining Boutique II' Ebenezer Nketsiah Mensah
University of Florida

My works focus on illegal mining known as ‘galamsey’ in Ghana and reflect on my experience as a former illegal miner and block-molder and embrace these phenomena in my art practice….My works communicate themes of identity, labor, power, migration, and history in various corporations and industrial sectors, using mediums such as sculpture and installations. With the method of assembling discarded materials and found objects, I discuss the lived experiences of laborers and examine the archetypal influences on various sectors of exploited laborers. I highlight the different socio-political ire, tackling topics of industrial structures and systems regarding these phenomena, and then articulating it in my practice…..I use materials that have roots of embroidery with historical memories to develop these structures metaphorically and evoke issues of industrial decay by activating subtle dialogues. My works capture a sense of historical path to evoke the memories of both collective and personal passage of time and how the historical characters influence our past to create my work. I highlight the untold silence embedded in the materials. I reconnect emotional ties of memories and congregate individual memories of persons and past moments through my works.
'Memory Traces II' Ebenezer Nketsiah Mensah
University of Florida

My works focus on illegal mining known as ‘galamsey’ in Ghana and reflect on my experience as a former illegal miner and block-molder and embrace these phenomena in my art practice….My works communicate themes of identity, labor, power, migration, and history in various corporations and industrial sectors, using mediums such as sculpture and installations. With the method of assembling discarded materials and found objects, I discuss the lived experiences of laborers and examine the archetypal influences on various sectors of exploited laborers. I highlight the different socio-political ire, tackling topics of industrial structures and systems regarding these phenomena, and then articulating it in my practice…..I use materials that have roots of embroidery with historical memories to develop these structures metaphorically and evoke issues of industrial decay by activating subtle dialogues. My works capture a sense of historical path to evoke the memories of both collective and personal passage of time and how the historical characters influence our past to create my work. I highlight the untold silence embedded in the materials. I reconnect emotional ties of memories and congregate individual memories of persons and past moments through my works.
'Two-Legged Chair' Ella Baum
Rhode Island School of Design
I am drawn to make images that interrupt our expectations and I aspire to do this by focusing on that which may otherwise go unnoticed. I believe as Robert Frank did, that “It is important to see what is invisible to others”. I ask questions with my camera rather than pursue answers and this approach has given me poetic license to explore light, texture, shape and composition - free from the constraints of a cogent linear narrative. This playful engagement with form often imbues my images with visual contradictions and non sequiturs….I grew up in flux between New York City’s sweaty sidewalks and the windswept grain fields of southern Sweden, regularly transitioning from the frenetic energy of the urban environment to the reclusiveness of rural life. This experience of liminality infuses my photographs with a sense of longing and a deep locational awareness.
'Woman life freedom is a daily practice' Elmira Yousefi
University of Florida

This series is made using more than 50 Iranian women's handwriting, which I asked them to write "Woman, Life, Freedom" in Persian (زن زندگی آزادی). This is the main slogan of the women-led revolution in Iran, which people are chanting in the streets; both the women who are fighting in the streets and the women who were forced to leave the country. These handwritings are put together by weaving and overlapping different narratives. I believe that each individual's handwriting is interconnected with those around them. As a daily practice, "Woman Life Freedom" gives meaning to our lives not along, but across and intertwined.
'Well I guess you're done with it' Haley Inyart
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

This work is based on a collection of memories connected to family and the memory loss that I remember all too well. Memories kept in boxes and tubs and containers and associated with certain objects. Memories that are all too distant and in and out of focus in my mind. Some parts are more colorful than others and some are just covered up by darkness.
'Butter Knife' Isabella Losskarn
University of Georgia

Working exclusively from artist-captured reference photographs, she collects and spends time with each of the objects seen in her hyperrealistic artworks before they are placed in a composition, photographed, and drawn with soft pastels. Her practice, which is rooted heavily in the regular study of gender-based research, pulls from personal and anonymous experiences in an effort to address a specific absurdity— the circumstances and consequences of the overwhelming presence of gendered stereotypes, ideas and imagery in our daily life.
'White Escape Jar' Jackson Shaner
University of South Carolina

I create ceramic artworks inspired by classical and contemporary sculpture, nightmares, and fantasy. My work explores themes of emotional containment, restriction, and somatization: when emotions cause physical sensations of discomfort, tension, and pain….My Escape Jars act as metaphors for how I tend to interact with overwhelming emotions. I can bottle them up and hold them inside, or I can allow myself to let things out through loud, noisy expression. My creative process is extremely cathartic and therapeutic. It allows me to channel my emotions into an object: to create space for grief, fear, and anxiety that I normally conceal….As for the process itself, I enjoy implementing several techniques that each pay homage to my love for clay: wheel throwing, hand-building, and sculpture. With each action, I commit myself to the material and imbue the clay with a different form of energy. Thus, I am quite literally pouring out trapped emotions, creating new containers for them, and walking away feeling lighter, replenished, and ready to chase the next dream that comes my way.
'In transit #1 Meditating Kid' Kenton Bueche
University of New Mexico

My work explores my condition and experience in living with extreme light sensitivity and “legal blindness”. Between the binary of the sighted and the blind, exists a spectrum of perception that is chronically neglected yet drastically affects lived experiences. As an individual with Oculocutaneous Albinism 1, my sight varies and depends greatly upon my surrounding environment. This has impacted my life beyond my understanding, as it has formed my conscious and unconscious mind…..My art utilizes color, contrast, and pattern to explore and manipulate the effects of light, physical sense of space, and orientation to engage with viewers' senses. As a visual artist working and living with a visual disability; my style, process, and finished work are all informed by both preference and physical ability. When creating work, I am in a constant state of negotiation between my artistic vision, limited eyesight, and general senses throughout. In doing this I’ve developed a visual language that expands “visual art” into the realm of those who lack proficient sight. When someone views my work, there becomes a conversation and collaboration between their perspective and mine. This collaboration creates understanding and strives to create new ways of knowing the world.
'You Find Me at Last' KwunLan Wong
Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Self-disclosure is a crucial part of any intimate relationship, and yet in my culture, revealing your true thoughts is a dangerous act that exposes your weaknesses. This personal dichotomy is made public in my current glass sculptures, where my insecure feelings and complex thoughts hide behind cartoon figures made of delicate glass. My glass figures manifest the words I leave unsaid in my intimate relationships to avoid communicating verbally….In my work, there is always a distance between the delicate glass and its audience that mimics how I present myself in relationships. The medium of glass and its process force me to develop trust with my teammates in the hot shop. We build intimate relationships in the hot shop where non-verbal interactions dominate. This dynamic is how I feel most comfortable expressing my feelings.
'Into the Void' Lisa Hamilton
University of Kansas

Once when small, I was snugly wrapped, and placed in a hollow on the side of a hill under an old oak tree. The smells of the freshly dug earth, the sun dappling on my face, and the gentle rocking of the tree were my companions. Wind gusts rustled my hair and leaves visited while I gazed up and waved my arms in celebration. Acorns and bugs watched while the grasses danced and whispered me to sleep…The intimate woodland magic I knew as a child, shapes and defines this body of work. Through emphasis of mark making, texture, and movement I strive to create a kind of language which speaks to the peace and solace of nature. Like an offering I add metalwork to honor the distinct beauty of these objects. I am fascinated by the spaces, the poetry of shadows, those voids left by encroaching lichen, crisscrossing tree branches, and the paths of time….Weaving a spell of peace and solitude, I create a place to dwell. Much like the landscape of the body these pieces are fragile yet resilient. The ritual of wearing my work may be all that is needed to reconnect with our extraordinary natural world.
'New mother, pandemic edition' Lizzata Rendon
Texas Tech University

I am a Latina based artist in the city of mission, TX. My work is based on my experiences as a new mother. I am an artist mother who has to negotiate with my life and everyday life, and my daughter has become an important part of my artistic life. Applying my daughter to my work is a symbolic key to my work, as to how I am currently living and how my artistic skills have improved or stayed neutral. My work is about Breaking down boundaries of being a mother and an artist, that is not a taboo, I am still an artist, no matter the situations in life, my work is still valid. I am an artist and I am a mother. I am an Artist Mother.
'Maybe Tomorrow' Lucy Osborne
Ohio University

This artwork captures the profound longing for a better day that ultimately, like a fish out of water, cannot exist. I rely on the imposition of surreal imagery, fluid linework, and saturated pastels, evoking a sense of irrationality that allows viewers to confront and navigate the depths of their own consciousness beyond reason….I find personal solace in the act of mark-making, both in its physicality and the escape it offers as my marks interplay and inform one another within each stroke. The exploration of the natural world deepens our connection to this dreamlike realm, supported by the faces who came before; resonating to the feelings and spaces that now surround us, smiling, reassuring, but knowing. There is a painful but innately beautiful duality in which we compare reality to that of the world we hope to see in our dreams. There is much refuge, yet loneliness in the places we wish to be that cannot exist. People we long for, voices we ache to hear… The fish motif within the artwork acts as a guide, offering a joyful interlude of peace and sentiment as we access the spaces of our dreams, even when physical presence still remains beyond reach.
'Erasure' Maede Mehdipor
Temple University

I have always tried to create my artwork from a perspective of humanity and the environment surrounding me because I think these two concepts are always with me and transcend time and space. In the earth and the mud work, I dealt with waste materials, in the mud, I want to show that a discarded object can have exactly the specific use we want. In this work, a waste metal surface, which is actually a part of an old refrigerator, is used as a loom and warp threads, and the weaving is done on it. through erasure, I sought to gain insight into the environmental degradation that surrounds us.
'Mud' Maede Mehdipor
Temple University

I have always tried to create my artwork from a perspective of humanity and the environment surrounding me because I think these two concepts are always with me and transcend time and space. In the earth and the mud work, I dealt with waste materials, in the mud, I want to show that a discarded object can have exactly the specific use we want. In this work, a waste metal surface, which is actually a part of an old refrigerator, is used as a loom and warp threads, and the weaving is done on it. through erasure, I sought to gain insight into the environmental degradation that surrounds us.
'Alma Mía En Los Laureles' Magda Leon
Massachusetts College of Art and Design

Throughout my artistic journey, I have dedicated myself to delving into the intricate tapestry of my personal experiences as an immigrant, uncovering the complex emotions that arise from constantly feeling displaced and out of place. Immigrating to a new country brings forth a myriad of challenges, and among them is the unique struggle of existing in a perpetual state of "in-betweenness."….My hope is for my art to serve as a vessel, carrying the stories of countless individuals who, like me, have walked the delicate tightrope between their native culture and the unfamiliar customs of their adopted home. It is a visual representation of the clashes and harmonies that occur within the human spirit when faced with the task of reconciling two contrasting worlds.
'There was something different about this New Years Eve' Mara Cressey
Missouri State University

My work depicts the events that progress during a singular, made-up night in which a party is taking place. Using oil paint as my primary medium, I create multi-figure works that feature reoccurring characters, various narratives, and complex relationships and emotions associated with the individuals I depict. Within this painted realm, I incorporate portrayals of a more confident, assertive version of myself, or alter ego, who exists alongside these various characters. Drawing inspiration from early-Renaissance compositional strategies, I paint on large-scale, curved canvas and paper to indicate a sense of prominence and divinity, while simultaneously suggesting domestic, interior spaces, two ideas not commonly associated with one another. The narratives, characters, and text that I illustrate often stem from or are influenced by real life situations in which I wish I could have come across as more self-assured. Ultimately, my work promotes keen social observance and personal reflection and confidence; it provides an opportunity to build worlds in which the characters I have created, including this second self, are able to exist permanently.
'Marcela' Massimo Tarridas
SUNY New Paltz

“Nueva Vena” is a project about my maternal home country of Venezuela. The title is a play on the Spanish word for ‘vein’ and ‘Venezuela’, and reflects the project’s investigative ethos: to see what ‘new blood’ — what new kinds of culture and activism and liveliness — might still exist under 25 years of oppressive regime. While this project depicts how the defunct and corrupt government affects people’s day-to-day lives, the goal is to look, not quite optimistically, but proudly, at the artists, scientists, and workers who are trying to make life a little better for those around them, even when their own situation is dire. There is a strong journalistic element to the project, as I am incorporating interviews and anecdotes from a cross section of Venezuelan contemporary culture and resistance: activists like Pedro Marrero Fuenmayor and Marcela Scarpellini, artists like Blanca Haddad and Amalia Caputo, anthropologists like Alessandra Mendoza.There is a circle of culture and art and science which exists in every society in order to nurture the mind and soul, a circle of production that must keep moving in order to counteract the sadness that each day produces. These are the people that keep the circle moving.
'JE-TAIME-JENNIFER' Michelle Caron-Pawlowsky
Concordia University

This project draws from geopoetics, a practice that encourages the intersection of various art forms and ecological inquiry, to navigate questions about biophilia, the rejection of anthropocentrism, the romanticisation of nature, and the use of nature imagery to promote "desirable" lifestyles. This project experiments with poetic approaches to artmaking by reimagining poetic structure in the context of visual art. The "rules" of poetics (rhyming, line, spacing, imagery, etc.) become arbitrary rules to a game through which various visual and aesthetic choices are made, influencing new readings of images and toying with the ways in which our ways of seeing the world around us can be altered. To me, these works do function as a daydream, guided by an intuitive exploration of current and potential human-environment relationships.
'Two-Tone Apparitions' Miles Buchan
Colorado State University

My work explores my condition and experience in living with extreme light sensitivity and “legal blindness”. Between the binary of the sighted and the blind, exists a spectrum of perception that is chronically neglected yet drastically affects lived experiences. As an individual with Oculocutaneous Albinism 1, my sight varies and depends greatly upon my surrounding environment. This has impacted my life beyond my understanding, as it has formed my conscious and unconscious mind…..My art utilizes color, contrast, and pattern to explore and manipulate the effects of light, physical sense of space, and orientation to engage with viewers' senses. As a visual artist working and living with a visual disability; my style, process, and finished work are all informed by both preference and physical ability. When creating work, I am in a constant state of negotiation between my artistic vision, limited eyesight, and general senses throughout. In doing this I’ve developed a visual language that expands “visual art” into the realm of those who lack proficient sight. When someone views my work, there becomes a conversation and collaboration between their perspective and mine. This collaboration creates understanding and strives to create new ways of knowing the world.
'Alaska IR1' Miles Jordan
University of Alaska, Fairbanks

I utilize digital infrared as a medium to re-conceptualize popular wild space. I have explicitly focused on Alaskan scenes in digital IR in this set of images.
'Summer Bathers' Natalie Galindo
University of Miami

I paint with an impressionist style, utilizing wet-on-wet oil paint techniques to explore the interplay of movement and color, conveying the intricacies of spirituality, duality, transcendence, and memory derived from my experiences. By creating spatial shifts and leaving traces of figures and objects transitioning into new spaces, I seek to capture the perpetual motion embedded within all aspects of life, even in moments of apparent stillness. My work delves into the dynamic relationship between distant memories and present experiences, often drawing from personal photographs of family, friends, and familiar places, transforming them into painted reflections of memory and time. Embracing the nonlinear nature of time, I approach each piece by layering oil paint, often directly on the canvas, allowing the figures or objects to evolve organically, mirroring the continuous evolution of memories and the fluidity of time. The final imagery encapsulates profound moments from my life. Yet, it is the process, with its immediacy and deliberate layering, that truly encapsulates the essence of my artistic exploration, embodying the perpetual flux inherent in the complex human experience, seamlessly interweaving the spiritual and the mundane, and embracing the inherent dualities of existence.
'Womens Resilience' Rana Tiba
Iowa State University
'Glimpse of Memory Series' Rosin Ayaraniyousefabadi
University of Regina

My art centers on the everyday human experience and the significance it holds. In the series “ Glimpse of Memory “ I explore how our memories and experiences are shaped over time. By delving into my personal photo archives, I choose images that evoke reflections on social connections and daily life, serving as the foundation of my mixed-media work. These moments often capture life's natural, relaxed, and seemingly mundane essence, like casual conversations and sips oftea. Each interaction adds a layer to our existence, influencing our identities and sometimes leaving a profound impact. I work with semi-transparent colored pencils on paper, creating a transitory quality that mirrors memory's fleeting nature. Memories are dynamic, akin to foggy short videos. Referencing multiple photos sequentially creates a time-lapse effect, echoing how memories can be vivid or blurry. I'm intrigued by indelible memories, the ones that become bold and endure. Central to my work are overlapping human figures representing moments in constant evolution, free from spatial constraints. My palette features vibrant hues layered to mimic the ‘afterimage’ effect in memory recall. I explore how memories and experiences are reshaped through reimagination and reconstruction. I convey this concept using high-saturation color layers and dynamic lines to construct environments suggesting memory as an altered or divergent experience from the present.
'Dust and Dusk', Richards Garden Triptych, Scott Elk
National Art School Sydney Australia

The emotional content of this artwork deals broadly with grief and is an expression of the movement of energy from one form into another, whether that’s the stages of grief, or the person or thing that has been lost. The body of work that this painting is from was started as a response to the death of my father in late December 2022. The series recalls this event as a starting point but became symbolically about the many losses I had experienced over the past couple of years, which allowed my work to talk to a universal emotion of grief. As a multidisciplinary artist, the first phase of making involved a soundscape, which then influenced a series of ceramic urns, which in turn influenced a multitude of drawn and painted wall works including this one, which was drawn from observation from a floral arrangement from a funeral. My process of describing the foliage became about following the many lines within the arrangement in a technique similar to a blind contour drawing. I was interested in capturing the energy of the flowers which resulted in a very fragmented outcome that was able to transcend the physical objects I was working from.
'Daddy-Dropoff' Scott Jones
Wichita State University

Men need to embrace their vulnerability…Traditionally, masculinities have been associated with strength, stoicism, and assertiveness. If taken to an extreme, these behaviors repress emotion, perpetuate hypermasculinity, and ignore boundaries, ultimately harming oneself and others. My work explores masculinities to engage in abstract expression-abstract expression that is emotionally complex and recognizes the multi-faceted nature of masculinity. I want to examine the aspects of my identity, such as a father and husband, and expand my emotional intelligence…I enjoy the malleable properties of clay. The tactile nature of this medium allows for a direct and intimate connection. Through this interaction, I evoke emotions such as love, guilt, and tenderness. My identity is complex and unique to my experiences, and embracing this complexity allows me to express myself and contribute to a diverse society authentically.
'Birdwatching' Skyler Simpson
University of Wisconsin, Madison

My work explores tension in the domestic sphere. Each painting creates suspense and unease through voyeurism and horror film tropes. This work celebrates homemaking and examines the realities of an isolated life; the tidy but chaotic interiors suggest that home is a source of anxiety. These portraits work through complicated relationships and the residual effects of generational trauma, specifically related to archaic gender dynamics. Referencing my lived experience, these paintings examine the home as a fraught refuge. Vividly imagined and meticulously realized, the paintings provide a way for me to exert control and find order in chaos. The repetitive mark-making serves as a cathartic channel for negative memories. The scenes are dreamlike and suspenseful. They underscore my real-life fears, anxieties, and pressures.
'New Growths' Vic Barquin
University of Arkansas

My practice operates on a natural cycle of life, death, and back to life again. Pieces are born only to die and become something new. This method of creation and destruction evolved at the beginning of the pandemic when I could no longer afford art supplies. I started cutting up previous work as a way to create new material. I see the process of reimagining what something can be as inherently optimistic—a ratchet strap can become a yellow brushstroke, a finished piece can become another finished piece. Through this methodology, potential and possibility have become guiding forces in my work…..However, attention is also paid to hopelessness, failure, and rigidity. Opposites exist simultaneously—two things are true at once—which I see as a metaphor for living in the world. While some fabrics have been sliced, shredded, and punctured, others are delicately draped, tied, and hung. Further, the incorporation of everyday objects alongside elements from my studio archive are meant to empower the viewer. By using inflatable pool mats, plastic ponchos, zip ties, and patterned rope, viewers can begin to imagine what they might do with the objects in their own environment.

Videos in Exhibition:

‘World’s End’ Marie Lauren Drake
Massachusetts College of Art & Design

The dead sun/ black holes within my animations for this series represent the “world’s end” which is inspired by the name of a Boston park I visited upon moving here. They are meant to signify the end of all things, the sun going out, the end of the world as we know it- not literally, but figuratively. Life can sometimes feel full of dread and this fear of a looming disaster on the horizon has become part of everyday life post-9/11 and post-covid. Every generation/individual has its/their own version and fears of the apocalypse……The viewing of these imagined endings in time is meant to represent moving past endings/trauma/change by memorializing these stages and separating them from the present to view them as a part of the past. I am representing these animations as if they are in a Museum of History or Science 80,000 years in the future, as if the viewer is looking back at several catastrophic “endings”. ….The main objective is to represent past “endings” and manifest them into a physical thing (a container of sorts). By placing these images into this video collage, I am ruminating on the idea that the death of something (ideas, relationships, worldviews) can leave room for a new beginning. A paradigm shift. Ultimately, I am thinking about this idea of quelling the fear of the end and reframing time as a holder of all endings, an infinite museum of ends…..This is a digital version of a video project that is also part of a 4 channel video installation being exhibited at MassArt this December.

‘Fragments of Eternity III’ Lia Embil
Queens College, CUNY

Fragments of Eternity was a large-scale multimedia installation exhibited in Klapper Gallery (New York), in April of 2023, as my MFA thesis exhibition. The exhibition was comprised of a hanging installation of 600 found objects collected over the span of a year, a sound installation of recorded sounds, instruments, and my voice, as well as 600 poems, with each poem corresponding to one of the hanging objects. The exhibition created a space for visitors to experience stillness and wonder amongst floating objects of our every day, or not so every day. Floating at eye level, these objects from our world ultimately allowed the visitor to turn their eye inward and reflect on their own being and consciousness. The space served as a dreamscape, outside of the increasingly mechanic world we find ourselves in, inspiring memory, beauty, and contemplation.

Juror Statements

Jurors Choice Award - Rana Tiba _Glaucoma_ Iowa State University

Lexie Loader, MFA, the University of Montana
Jurors Choice: ‘Glaucoma’ Rana Tiba, Iowa State University

It was an exciting process to jury the online mfa exhibition, I was in awe of all the artwork that was submitted. I saw mediums and materials being pushed in ways I’d never thought of or imagined and pieces that left me speechless from the content and vulnerability of the artist. While there was such a huge range in mediums, media, and content, it made me actually feel closer to other mfa students from around the county and globe and left me extremely inspired.

For my jurors choice award, I knew I wanted it to be one of Rana Tiba’s paintings, it was just a matter of which one. Rana Tiba is an Egyptian Painter and Illustrator who is pursuing their MFA degree at Iowa State University. Rana entered three incredibly powerful oil paintings that all had an impact on me making it very difficult to decide which one to select. I chose the painting titled Glaucoma, because I couldn’t stop thinking about it. This portrait is so intimate and Tiba shows such intensity and intention in her marks, but also a lot of restraint and empty space that leaves room to really contemplate this portrait. I really enjoy and appreciate the way Tiba paints; her figurative work is representational yet slightly skewed, manipulated, and exaggerated to push the emotional impact of them even further. Her application of paint and use of materials is impressive, full of texture, color and emotion.

@imlexielou

Jurors Choice Award - Behnaz Fatemi

Lilly Bennett, MFA, the University of Montana
Jurors Choice: “Voices of a Revolution” MFA Behnaz Fatemi, University of Waterloo

Voices of a Revolution” made by Behnaz Fatemi, is a wearable sound sculpture dedicated to the ‘Woman Life Freedom’ revolution in Iran. The large pyramid-shaped “helmet” plays sounds documented during Waterloo Region protests that occurred in response to the devastating death of Mahso (Jina) Amini, which sparked mass outcry all over the world. Bahnaz Fatemi says, “the installation is a personal tribute to the bravery and resilience of the protesters, especially women in Iran who have risked taking to the streets in the face of extreme adversity.… The cement-looking helmet sculpture made of paper mache represents a solid and safe place of refuge through its evocation of concrete, a refuge from the extreme stress, tension, and trauma I and many in Iran experience daily while loved ones are lost or in danger. The interactive installation welcomes participants into its isolated atmosphere, facilitating a space where the wearer can immerse themselves into an auditory world of chants and slogans evoking these mass protests worldwide through a soundtrack of resistance. Through this installation, I endeavor to shed light on the experiences of those who live under oppressive regimes and to raise awareness about the importance of protecting civil rights and social freedoms, amplifying the voices of the revolution.” Behnaz has brought together form, function, and the urgency for social freedom in a way that is brilliant and effective, and I am honored to be able to represent Behnaz Fatemi as my Jurors Choice.

www.lilylunaart.net
@lilyluna.art

Juror Choice “Imprinted” Monica Hamilton, University of Connecticut

Emily Mulvaney, MFA, the University of Montana
Jurors Choice: “Imprinted” Monica Hamilton, University of Connecticut

Monica Hamilton’s “Imprinted” struck me. I had an emotional response to this photograph. Visions and memories of my grandparent’s farmhouse in rural Minnesota flooded my mind. The mark, or index, of someone’s physical presence in a space begs the viewer to fill in the absence. There is a sense of longing here. Hamilton has beautifully captured the relationship between routine and time through showing this glimpse into an intimate interior environment.”

“The jurying process was difficult, yet so delightful. Seeing the work of other current MFA students/artists was exciting. The level of dedication and contemplation is clear. As a panel, we looked for pieces that were conceptually and formally strong while being conscious of representing a variety of media.

www.emilymulvaney.com
@emily_mulvaney

Jurors Choice “Tick Tock Tick Tock” Lolo Gem, Towson University

Megan Foster, MFA, the University of Montana
Jurors Choice: “Tick Tock Tick Tock” Lolo Gem, Towson University

I chose Tick Tock Tick Tock by Lolo Gem as my Juror’s Choice. I immediately fell in love with this painting. The composition feels alive. All the energy of an act of frustration and exhaustion captured at once. The clock and the tick, tick, tick, of time explode across the canvas. The drama is being delivered in classic cartoon packaging – an aesthetic that is filled with nostalgia and comfort. It’s a thoughtful and expertly executed piece that walks the line between charming humor and complex emotion.

Jurying this exhibition was an absolute pleasure. It was exciting to see the breadth of work being created by fellow graduate students and the tenacity with which they explored their subject matter. The most challenging part of the process was narrowing down the submissions to our final selections. It was hard saying goodbye to so many incredible pieces. To all those that applied, thank you for sharing your work, and know that it was very close.

www.meganvfoster.com
@meganvfoste

Jurors Choice “Night Dress” Angeles Salinas, University of Texas, San Antonio

Morgan Kemp, MFA, Montana State University
Jurors Choice: “Night Dress” Angeles Salinas, University of Texas, San Antonio

Night Dress is a delightful mixed media piece, crafted by Angeles Salinas. The moment I saw it I was captivated, and the only word I can properly use to describe it is delicious. Angeles pulls on their childhood, Mexican heritage, and domesticity to create whimsical work layered with deeper meaning and designed through a female perspective. Every single element is so thoughtfully integrated from the repetition in the form of the telephone poles, to the gradient of black through the transition of materials, to the small glow of light, and the contrast of dreamy memory above to ominous takeover below. The extravagance of the fabric and fibers cascading from the wall to the floor, like a dramatic ball gown, feels like it is inviting me to try this memory on. By doing so this painting is pushed into the sculptural world and creates an immersive environment which I find absolutely enchanting. It enveloped me from the start and has only gotten better and better the longer I have had to enjoy it.

There is a beautiful significance to this show, bringing together applicants from MFA’s all over the world, culminating in the reflection of a mutual experience of art in grad school. The best part of the jurying process for me was feeling connected to such a plethora of artists through their work, and realizing what an extensive community of us there are out there. We can get so laser-focused on our own work that we forget to look up and see what others are doing, and I tell you what, there are some incredible things being done by MFA’s and I am so glad that I got to see some of it. There were specific works that resonated with me on a deep level, and it’s amazing that, even in an online space, art can have such an impact.

www.awildthingsart.com
@_morgankemp

Jurors Choice “Eyehole for a Shapeshifter” Nicole Crozier, Concordia University

Tiana Godfrey, MFA, Montana State University
Jurors Choice:“Eyehole for a Shapeshifter” Nicole Crozier, Concordia University

I fell into Eyehole for a Shapeshifter by Nicole Crozier. There’s an immediacy to its bright reds and warm yellows and a patient, revealing quality to the textures and details. It feels uncomfortable and frightening, but also expansively worth falling in love with. I’m not sure if the dream is good or bad. And I’m not sure if the dream is good or bad! Always. So seeing a painting that allowed me to explore that through another’s imagination encouraged me to also select this as my #1 juror’s choice.

I had no idea what I was getting into with the jurying process––it required diplomacy and an ability to articulate what I appreciated about a piece, as well as the equal ability to let that go for the sake of another’s appreciation. The discussions around the artworks, many that had several strong defendants, allowed me to see how other juror’s look, and that aspect is something I’ll take with me while creating and looking myself.

www.teagodfrey.com 
@tea.godfrey

Jurors Choice Award - Sarah Faith Strait
Kristen Hedge, MFA, Montana State University
Jurors Choice: “White Horse with Yellow” by Sarah Faith Strait, Miami University

It was an honor to jury this show and see artworks from MFA students nationally and internationally. Thank you to everyone who submitted! Jurying this show was no easy task, we had many discussions about the artworks and the artists statements that impacted how we viewed the piece. I am grateful for this opportunity to view another artist’s work and to understand what this process is really like. I think what stood out to me was at the end when we had to get down to the final artworks that would end up in the show. To curate a show based on “Daydreams” can in a sense be widely interpreted, however the works we picked I think are a great representation of a daydream. These works represent identity, the body, societal and class stigmas, and political divides. The artist’s interpretation of these subjects resonated with us in impactful ways. I am grateful for the level of vulnerability and insightfulness represented.

For “Juror’s Choice” I picked the artwork “ White Horse with Yellow” by Sarah Faith Strait from Miami University. I found this piece alluring with the two white horses going between representation, to being fragmented and abstracted with thick brush strokes. The color is soft yet sublime. I find the body posture to be relaxed and also radiating that these animals are kind. Horses bear the brunt of human behavior in many ways. As artist Sarah Faith Strait describes “The story of the horse and its history with humankind is a complex and tragic one, where its agency and spirit have been harnessed and exploited for the advancement of human endeavors.” They reflect upon us what we give to them. We see many horse paintings in Montana. They typically show stoicism, independence, and a strength in masculinity in some way. I was drawn to this painting because it takes the overdone ego out of it. She continues with “In my work, the integrity of the horse is broken down, fragmented, and re-imagined, suggesting potential movement and the passage of time.”