CURATED VIRTUAL EXHIBITION: SUMMER 2020 MASSART MFA THESIS

During the time of COVID-19 artists have had to adapt as many projects have been cancelled or put on hold. Artists must engage many social spheres, physical and virtual spaces as a means of survival. They must find and explore new ways to create and interact with their audiences and communities. They must recontextualize personal, environmental and domestic domains in their work. Artists in this year’s low-residency Master of Fine Arts Thesis virtual exhibition show how they’ve addressed some of the challenges of this pivotal moment in U.S. history.

Cat Azazel, Vincent Esposito, Chris Goodwin, Christine Hajjar, Darryl Loyer, Zachary Tate, and Jake Zapor examine and reference imagery of the theatre, moving imagery, and games in order to portray the importance of social interaction and identity. For Azazel and Esposito, the “stage” is a site of human progression and revelation. Hajjar presents figures of spiritual adornment and feminine empowerment. Goodwin uses characters in a game-based story world to address and overcome divisive selfishness. Loyer channels emotions, sudden events, and the passage of time. Tate explores the body as a site of fragmentation and reconstruction.

Maura Cronin, Paul Fitzgerald, Chantel Gushue, K Haskell, Melanie dai Medeiros, Maureen Riley, and Cory Shepherd investigate their connection with nature using natural materials or nature-based imagery. Cronin and Fitzgerald engage mark making, fibers and other natural materials to create abstract works. Gushue focuses on crystal growth as a metaphor for unattainable perfection. Haskell examines the borders of disgust and fear in their drawings of decomposing life forms. Medeiros and Riley depict the transfiguration in and natural changes of landscapes. Shepherd explores the transformation of solid matter to vapor.

John Suro delves into the polemics of LGBTIQ oppression through playfulness, iconoclasm, and appropriation, using everyday materials, popular imagery, and absurdist contrast.

Leslie Lyman, Cynthia Zeman, and Hannah Zimmerman explore homelife and the private spaces of the home. Lyman and Zeman depict the emotional labor and stultifying expectations of women. Zimmerman uses poetry to create images of everyday objects that are juxtaposed with colorful, material imagery. In times where we must spend more time at home than usual, we journey through these works of spaces that provoke and inspire wonder.

Nettrice Gaskins, Ph.D, August 2020