(Studio Photograph of Meg Rorison by Marcus Civin)
MFA's: They are the new generation of art makers. Their careers are about to blow up. They are what's Next. The ArtSlant team from across the US has spent the month of May going to MFA thesis shows, visiting with the grads, hanging out in studios and debating the merits of art school over a cold brew. The energy is palpable; the enthusiasm is inspiring. Our MFA Special Edition captures the highlights.
WHO'S NEXT?: YALE, RISD and SAIC
We decided to ask a few recent graduates from some of the top MFA programs in the country about their practice, what’s influencing them right now, and what the role of Art is today (read on).
(Jorge Mujica, Collected Works. 2012. Image courtesy of the artist.)
NEW YORK: Columbia University, Parsons
Everything you see in these exhibitions you are seeing for the first time and none of it is less than the artists’ best effort (tell me more).
(Molly Lowe; Columbia University)
VIP ART FAIR: VIP Art Fair is presenting the debut edition of VIP MFA, the first-ever juried online art fair conceived to support and champion artists’ launch into the art market.
BLOOMINGTON: Rachel Lin Weaver @ Indiana University
Trace Evidence, Rachel Lin Weaver’s MFA thesis exhibition at the University of Indiana, Bloomington, is not one you easily forget (more about Rachel).
(Rachel Lin Weaver, left: Trace Evidence, Interactive multimedia installation, 20-minute loop; right: Dad #439, Archival Inkjet Print, 18 x 24; images courtesy of the artist.)
CHICAGO: Mario Romano @ SAIC
"A situation such as an MFA show is not the time or place to even attempt to stand alone so I looked at the exhibition as an opportunity to collaborate with others..." (read on)
(Mario Romano, Open and closed, 2012, Oil and sole of my shoe on panel, 14 x 12 in. Courtesy of the artist.)
BALTIMORE: Laini Nemett and Meg Rorison @ MICA
What about slowing down? What about meditative work? What about dignified work? (discover this)
(left: Laini Nemett in her studio, working on Collages; right: Studio photograph of Meg Rorison, photos by Marcus Civin.)
NEW YORK, SAN FRANCISCO: More Artists to Watch
Located just 26 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles, Azusa Pacific University's MFA provides an educational context within which artists of unusual artistic promise and strong motivation explore the horizons of their talents in the midst of an intense critical dialogue.
ARTSLANT INSIDER* - Alison Woods
Alison Woods, Maelstrom, 2011, acrylic on pvc, 96 x 132 in.
Alison Woods is a painter currently living in San Francisco, CA. She is in the MFA program at San Francisco Art Institute.
ARTSLANT INSIDER* - William T. Rohe
William T. Rohe, Open Door, 2009, acrylic on canvas, 70 x 60cm.
William T. Rohe is an American artist living on the island of Aegina in the Saronic Gulf in Greece since 2003.
Thank you to all of the participating artists, schools and institutions who bring us this MFA extravaganza.
For more information on our Special Edition packages featuring ArtSlant Insiders and Watchlist for galleries, artists and art services, please contact Sunny@artslant.com.
