MFA Candidates Exhibition II

hear my voice is not your typical exhibition presenting a culmination of a master fine arts candidate’s studies. Not for these artists. Especially not during this pivotal time in their career with a global pandemic raging in the background. Disrupted livelihoods, personal health, and connectivity between one another created an unfathomable experience. As a result, many resorted to some strange form of forced isolation. Like the educational process, curating this exhibition was equally affected. Conversations and studio visits were disjointed by distance and time, but to their credit, each artist remained steadfast in their pursuits finding enlightenment in the process of making and pushing.

Presented in two parts, hear my voice features unique groups of artists, projects, and works. Each component unveils a remarkable series of commonalities among their presentations, how they approach their work, and how they speak to one another. There is much to explore in this exhibition. First is a variety of media ranging from painting and sculpture to installation and performance, and second, the various perspectives on the profoundly introspective world and simultaneous yearning to communicate with audiences.

In part two, the exhibition takes a contemplative turn, where the artist’s work explores the very nature of phenomenology from an acutely personal place. Culture, trauma, tradition, loss, and identity play an active role in opening a dialogue. Without being intentional, viewers are left to their own devices to navigate, actuate, and find meaning within the works and projects presented.

~ Jeremy Mikolajczak, guest curator
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Featuring artists Bary Birm, Vincent Granela, Kourosh Jeddi, Martha Underriner, and Sonia Vera-Leon.

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