With the start of the fall semester, we welcome a new crop of Canes, among them students in the Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) program in the Department of Art and Art History.
The work of these six new additions to the MFA program will be on exhibit providing an introduction of the candidates and the art community here at UM to the new students.
Embellishing the walls of the College of Arts and Sciences’ Gallery at the Wesley Foundation, the showcase will run from Tuesday to Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. beginning Aug. 24 and ending Sept. 17. During this window, students passing by the Wesley building, overheated and with time to kill, can find respite from the sun among the photographs, mixed media collages, ceramics and sculpture that comprise the exhibition.
But more than a place to walk through en route to your next class, the Wesley gallery is truly a destination spot.
“[The artists] are all extremely talented. They’re a really strong group and very different from each other. It’s going to be an exciting show,” gallery director Milly Cardoso said of the new MFA students.
Of the larger community of artists to which these new additions are grafted, Cardoso calls them “a force to be reckoned with.”
You can meet members of this force at the showcase’s opening reception on Friday from 5 to 9 p.m.
MFA candidate and photographer Lorraine Turi will be there. Pieces from her series “The Wheel and the Bodyfarm” will be featured in the new student showcase.
The sh.owcase allows Turi and her MFA peers a chance to leave a mark on UM, but UM is also already leaving its mark on them.
“There is a very welcoming spirit here at UM. I get the feeling there is a real comradery among the students and an honest interest in each other’s work and successes,” Turi said.
Mixed-media artist Abraham Camayd echoed her impressions.
“I arrived at [UM] with optimism and excitement,” said Camayd, whose piece “Doble habitación” (Spanish for double occupancy) will be featured in the exhibition.
Other MFA artists include Audrey Hynes (sculpture), Colby Katz (photography/digital imaging), Daniel Listwan (ceramics) and Valeria Rocchiccioli (sculpture).
“They are all so passionate about their work,” Cardoso said. “I would hope the viewer sees how high the quality of the work is and what kind of artists are here at UM.”
Jeremy Rosenthal may be contacted at jrosenthal@themiamihurricane.com.
IF YOU GO:
What: Incoming Graduate Student Art Show
When: Tuesdays to Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m, from Aug. 24 to Sept. 17
Where: The Wesley Foundation (United Methodist Campus Ministry)- 1210 Stanford Drive, Coral Gables, FL
Cost: Free
Reception: Fri., Aug, 27, from 5 to 9 p.m. Free entrance.