Transplanted

Transplanted

verb
/tran(t)sˈplant/ move or transfer (something) to another place or situation, typically with some effort or upheaval.

This is an online exhibition of current national and international graduate students working within the visual studio arts. We have a collective experience as graduate students, though vary from school to school. Initially, the experience of graduate school is similar to a plant being uprooted. Students leave their previous environment, and learn to establish new roots and adapt in order to thrive. With this comes new questions, new answers and new ideas. This exhibit presents excellent work being produced by graduate students today and reflect our shared experience.
– UM MFA Candidates, 2018

Spring 2018

Video Submissions

‘its hard to tell where its coming from’
by Christopher Lacroix

‘Little Bubbles’ by Dan Mirer

Juror Statements

“My jurors choice award goes to Anthony Kascak’s “Moon Jar With Mossy Oak” , do to it’s originality and obvious deep social and cultural references. As a ceramic artist I personally like the craftsmanship of the black moon jar and due to it’s outstanding use of composition and it’s thoughtful dichotomy of visual information and mystery, I am happy to say this was one of my favorite submissions right out the gate. Congratulations Anthony on such amazing work and I look forward to seeing more form you in the future.

Jurying this show has been an amazing privilege. Especially being able see all the amazing work produced by fellow graduate students from all over the United States and abroad. Having the opportunity to work alongside my colleagues here at the University of Montana to produce a show that is not only diverse in mediums, but diverse in cultural and conceptual content has been not only intellectually rewarding but emotionally as well. The sheer breath of talented work that was submitted was inspiring to say the least. I am honored to be involved in an art world filled with such passionate and talented people.”

Ryan Caldwell
MFA candidate, University of Montana, 2018 juror
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“I chose Rebecca Ou’s piece “Interior Stretch” as my juror’s choice. I appreciate the performative value in this piece, which also stands as a stunning photo. The artist’s use of the female body as a sculpture and object is provocative. Her incorporation of the preexisting architecture of the space, the radiator, warms the body that is being restricted and confined in a fabric that reads as both visceral and feminine. I commend Rebecca Ou on her beautiful, and thought provoking work!

It was my honor to jury the over 200 submissions entered to the University of Montana Juried Online MFA exhibition. I had a wonderful experience jurying alongside fellow University of Montana MFA students. The diverse and impressive number of inspiring artists made this a challenging and exciting opportunity. Attending a MFA program is an invigorating challenge to say the least, and it has been a privilege to view each and every submission from artists with different backgrounds and cultures all investigating and pursing their own artist endeavors!”

Stephanie Dishno
MFA candidate, University of Montana, 2018 juror
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“Hannah McBroom’s pieces immediately jumped out to me while going through the work. As a painter, I appreciate compositions of the mundane that transcend beautifully into thoughtful moments through paint. I really responded to her sense of color and variation in painting technique. The levels of information she gives throughout her pieces push and pull from objective to non-objective painting that I found quite incredible. McBroom’s work was immediately agreed upon and we were all impressed by!

It was such a pleasure being able to jury this exhibition with my fellow peers and see the incredible talent displayed through the work from graduate students all across the country and internationally. Although it was certainly a privilege to jury this exhibition, it proved to be quite challenging – as the vast majority of work showed great diversity and unique aspects in every medium. The jurying process was an amazing opportunity and has provided me a new motivation to get back in my studio and get to work. Thank you to all the students who submitted your work and allowed us to gain the experience of jurying. I am honored to be a part of the contemporary art world alongside these great artists.”

Danielle Lagoy
MFA candidate, University of Montana, 2018 juror
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“My Juror Selection was ‘Illusion Imitation’ by Guigen Zha. I felt this piece demonstrated exceptional craftsmanship and a unique use of material. The artist combined historical and contemporary references in an innovative way, blurring the lines between reality and perception. I was drawn to the overlapping imagery, and the thoughtful and intimate interaction between the two characters. I felt there was a story hidden behind the layers of this work, and it left me desiring more.

Being a juror for this show was a great experience. Although challenging due to the talent of the artists, it was a good exercise in looking at work objectively without the influence of my own personal aesthetic. Critiquing work for the formal and conceptual aspects led to thoughtful conversations, and made me aware of what goes on behind the scenes of juried exhibitions. Seeing what my peers are producing was a lot of fun, and was also a motivation to push my own work. If given the chance, I would highly recommend this experience to any student or artist.”

Molly Streiff
MFA candidate, University of Montana, 2018 juror
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“Out of all of the submitted works, I picked “MaMuk” by Heesoo Kwon as my juror’s choice. It was one of the works that jumped out at me early on, and the more I examine it, the more I enjoy it. MaMuk invokes positive feelings, feelings of pleasure, of imagination, and of exploration. It pulls forth a childlike exuberance for the world. This is a delightful take on the adventure of graduate school! Just as one explores the reality of MaMuk, one explores graduate school and the rest of their lives. MaMuk pulls forth positivity through its use of bright colors, and various objects used for its form. These various objects include fabric with teddy bears on it, silly googly eyes, pastel colored fake flowers and ribbons, among other things that I can’t quite identify; it’s bright and cheerful.

I appreciate the opportunity of being one of the jurors for this year’s show! Even though it was very difficult to decide which works to include in this year’s exhibit. I vastly enjoyed being able to view such a wide breadth of artwork, materials, and processes created by my peers. It inspired me to figure out what I thought each artist is trying to convey in their work. After a lot of debate, the other jurors and I were able to agree on which works were the best of the submissions. I’m excited for everyone who looks at this online exhibition, there are a lot of great works! My one regret is that we could only accept 50 of the wonderful artworks to the exhibit.”

Darla Pienciak
MFA candidate, University of Montana, 2018 juror
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