Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts to present annual MFA Thesis Exhibition May 11 to July 16

Washington University’s Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts will present its annual MFA Thesis Exhibition in the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum May 11 to July 16.

The exhibition will include approximately 60 artworks in a variety of media by 14 second-year master’s candidates from the Sam Fox School’s Graduate School of Art. Works will range from painting, printmaking and sculpture to photography, video, installation and projected animation. Exhibiting artists are: Robert Josiah Bingaman, Katherine Cannistra, Dennis Doty, Corey Escoto, Cameron Fuller, Sean Gyshen, David Johnson, Matthew O’Shea, Sarah Paulsen, Lisa Payne, Brian Priest, Travis Russell, Amy Thompson and Ann Yaeger.

Michael Byron, associate dean of faculty and professor of painting — who is organizing the exhibition with Stan Strembicki, professor of photography and interim director of the graduate program — points out that the 2006-07 academic year has marked some significant new developments for the Graduate School of Art.

For the first time in decades, all MFA studios are located together in a single facility, the university’s Lewis Center building, 725 Kingsland Ave. Further, the class of 2007 is the first to graduate since the MFA program was reorganized in 2005. The program now offers all students an MFA degree in studio art, rather than MFA degrees in individual media such as painting or sculpture.

“The idea is to create a larger, more integrated MFA community,” Bryon explains. “Students also have the opportunity to interact with a broader range of faculty and receive a broader spectrum of input.”

This year’s MFA Thesis Exhibition is also the first student show to be held in the Kemper Art Museum’s College of Art Gallery. The 2,250-square-foot space — which opened last October as part new museum facilities designed by Pritzker Prize-winning Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki — allows faculty and students to propose exhibitions that are then administered by museum staff.

“The College of Art Gallery provides an important component in the education of MFA candidates,” Byron explains. “It is essential for students to understand and experience a concretized level of professionalism — not only in their work, but also in the defense of their thesis in the formal setting of the museum. The College of Art Gallery is a great platform for them to assess their work as it leaves the educational environment and enters the professional arena.”

Dating back to 1879, the College and Graduate School of Art represent the first professional, university-affiliated art school in the United States. Today the Graduate School of Art allows students to pursue work in both traditional and cutting-edge media through independent studios supported by the academic resources of the larger university.

The MFA Thesis exhibition will open with a reception from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, May 11, and remain on view through July 16. The exhibition is free and open to the public. The Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum is located at the intersection of Skinker and Forsyth boulevards. Regular hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays; 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Fridays; and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. The museum is closed Tuesdays. For more information, call (314) 935-4523 or visit kemperartmuseum.wustl.edu.