News

BFA Student, Raeanne Nuzzo Receives IDEA Grant

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Junior BFA student concentrating in Graphic Design, Raeanne Nuzzo of New Haven, CT has received an IDEA Grant for a project that she is working on along side Professor Mary Banas, entitled Fear.  The project is set to be shown in the Fall in the Visual Art Installation Space at the School of Fine Arts.

This is what Raeanne has to say about her project:

Fear: The Culture is an interactive poster design project, featuring the phrase “Something really dangerous is going on,” a quote from Donald Trump, paired with the hashtag “#FearTheCulture” printed over a variety of images from sensationalized media as a method to critique the American culture of fear. The posters will be hung publicly over the summer, and reactions will be documented and catalogued along with the original source materials, culminating in a complete documentation and exhibition of the work in VAIS Gallery in Fall 2016.

2016 Spring Semester MFA Open Studios – 3/10/16

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The MFA Students of UConn proudly invite you to the 2016 Spring Semester Open Studios Event! There will be food, music, art and a chance to learn more about each MFA student’s work.
Thursday March 10th from 7-9PM at the Visual Arts Research Center (VARC) located on UConn’s Depot Campus in the Lebanon and Colchester buildings.

DIRECTIONS:Open Studios Poster

The VARC is located on the UConn Depot Campus, just off Rt. 44.

*BY BUS: From the UConn main campus, take the Purple Line and get off at the Lebanon Cottage stop

*BY CAR: From 195, take Rt 44 West.

At the stoplight next to the former prison, make a left onto Walters Avenue. Stay right at the fork to merge onto Ahern Lane.

Just past the abandoned buildings, you should see Lebanon Cottage and a blue sign that says “Visual Arts Research Center.” Parking is FREE.

See the Facebook Event Page for more information

 

Visiting Artist, Ted Efremoff – 3/4/16

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Ted Efremoff, assistant professor of art at Central Connecticut State University and a 2006 graduate of the UConn MFA Studio Art program, will discuss his artist work on March 4, 2016 at 12:00pm at the MFA Graduate Studios (VARC) on the Depot campus.

Efremoff born in Moscow, Russia, is a cross-disciplinary artist engaged with performance, video, installation and social practice. Spurred by his personal interest in social justice, he envisions collaborative activity as an instrument that builds critical relationships between people. His art explores the personal and cultural constraints ingrained within prevailing political, economic, and social power structures.

Efremoff has performed and exhibited nationally at Chashama performance spaces, Sideshow and PSII Galleries in New York City, The Museum of American Art in Philadelphia and the Benton and Mattatuck museums in Connecticut. Internationally his work has been seen at the Gongju National Museum in South Korea, The National Center of Contemporary Art in Moscow, Russia and The National Palace of Culture in Sofia, Bulgaria. His work is in the collections of the Sound Museum of Rome, The Los Angeles Center for Digital Arts and the Culture House of Bad Sobernheim, Germany.

Printmaker, John Shultz Visits

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John Schulz, artist/printmaker who teaches at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, gave a great lecture and showed prints to students in the printshop. He was a 2015 Counterproof Press visiting artist. Schulz worked with Counterproof Press to create and edition a suite of five wonderful letterpress prints.

Turning to cast-off images from books, magazines, comics, catalogues, and printed detritus, Jon Schulz’s work investigates and transforms common symbols and images from the “low” end of visual culture via chance operations, cut-ups, and an ironic visual language, conveying a sense of loss and psychic anxiety that reflects the uncertainty of memory and contemporary life.

Counterproof Press Publishes Broadside

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A limited edition letterpress broadside of visiting poet Susan Stewart’s poem, “Atavistic Sonnet” was published under the Art and Art History department’s Counterproof Press.  Design Center students designed and helped to print the edition. Susan Stewart gave a poetry reading as part of her visit to the university, sponsored by UConn’s Wallace Stevens Poetry Program.

Recent MFA Graduate, Micah Cash, to Have Book Published

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2014 MFA Graduate, Micah Cash, has recently announced that he will be publishing a book on a project he worked on while at The University of Connecticut. His website states the series Dangerous Waters investigates the landscapes and contemporary social impact of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) hydroelectric program. These photographs explore the tenuous balance between landscapes designed for hydroelectric generation and public recreation. While these dams have become symbols of social and economic prosperity, they also remain visual reminders of loss, population removal, and eminent domain. The ecological and personal sacrifices are privately internalized and the social benefits publicly celebrated.

To see more of Dangerous Waters see Micah’s feature on The Bitter Southerner or got to his website micahcash.com

Professor Deborah Dancy Interviewed by ArtPulse Magazine

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Recently, Professor and painter, Deborah Dancy, sat down with Jeff Edwards of ArtPulse Magazine to discuss the numerous bodies of work featured on her website, deborahdancy.com.

Edwards writes:
“Although her art is thoroughly abstract, Deborah Dancy’s paintings, drawings, and works in other mediums are
intimately bound to the world of concrete objects and the ephemeral perceptions and feelings of everyday life. On her website (deborahdancy.com), she comments on her fascination with “the poetic terrain of the incomplete, the fragment, the ruin and residue of ‘almost was,’ and ‘might become’” that she’s encountered in the zone between abstraction and representation. In the following interview, Dancy talks about how this notion has influenced her art artmaking; the wide and ever-expanding array of thoughts, impressions, and situations that have shaped her artistic practice over time; the interaction of different mediums in her creative process; and ways in which the commonplace and the near-at-hand have often had a profound influence on her most abstract work.”

To read the article in its entirety click here: Art Pulse No. 24 | Vol. 7 | 2015.

Congratulations to Alumni, Justine Braisted!

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Our alumna, Justine Braisted, who graduated in 2013 with a BFA concentrating in Communication Design has been offered a position at Pentagram in NYC—one of the most prestigious studios in the country. This brings the number of Graphic Design graduates who have worked there over the last few years to three (Haley Taylor ’15 and Emily Makarainen ’15). But the good news does not stop there for Justine, she has also been accepted in to the MFA program in Graphic Design at the Royal College of Art in London for the Fall 2016 semester. She will be joining UConn BFA graduate Sara Jamshidi who also graduated in 2013.

Congratulations, Justine!

Alumni Biennial (Three) Exhibition- January 26th-March 11th

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January 26th – March 11th in the Contemporary Art Galleries

Monday-Friday 10am-4pm and Sunday 1pm-4pm
The Contemporary Art Galleries announces its upcoming alumni exhibition, Alumni Biennial
(Three) January 26th through March 11th. The exhibition will feature four graduates from the University of
Connecticut’s Master of Fine Arts program. Juried by Jay Lehman, co-owner of New York City’s Morgan Lehman Gallery. Alumni Biennial (Three) will feature recent artwork by Deborah Zlotsky (MFA 1989), Jenn Dierdorf (MFA 2008) Siobhan Landry (MFA 2011) and Jared Holt (MFA 2014). Connecting each of these artists is a strong sense of play, either through style and appropriated imagery as with Dierdorf’s new flower portraits, through response to medium and process as with Zlotsky’s paintings and wall drawings, through the interactivity of Holt’s Typewriter, or through the dreamlike engagement with narrative in Landry’s video, A Place to Put Her. What starts as play gives way to complexity, engaging with important ideas of gender, sexuality, life, death, and the artist’s response.

For more information on the exhibition click here

Fine Arts Graduate, Antonio Campelli wins Marshall Scholarship

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Recent graduate Antonio Campelli ’15 (SFA) has been named a winner of the prestigious Marshall Scholarship. He is one of just 32 selected from among 916 applicants this year.

As the fourth Marshall recipient in UConn history – and 10th finalist since the 2005-2006 academic year – Campelli joins an impressive lineup of students who have gained the attention of the Marshall selection committee. Of the 10, he is the first to have graduated from the School of Fine Arts: the others have come from a variety of majors in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering.

The Marshall Scholarship is Britain’s flagship government-funded program for American students who represent some of the finest and brightest college graduates in the United States. It is named after former Secretary of State George C. Marshall, and was established as a gesture of gratitude to the people of the United States for the assistance the U.S. provided after WWII under the Marshall Plan.

Congratulations Antonio!

See the UConn Today article in its’ entirety here

Applying to UConn Art? Upcoming Portfolio Review Session, 12/05/15!

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Portfolio Review, Saturday, 12/05/15, 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm.

Anyone interested in becoming a BFA in Art student at UConn must submit a portfolio for consideration. After filling out the Common Application, students can upload a portfolio to Slideroom. Alternatively, students can present a physical portfolio in person to our UConn faculty reviewers!

Portfolio Requirements
Application FAQs

Faculty reviewers will look at work and offer some feedback. If you’re a Senior and applying to UConn, this can constitute your official portfolio review!

 

Join us in the Art Building at the Storrs Campus, bring your portfolio, and don’t forget your sketchbook!

Election Day Printmaking Workshop for High School Educators

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Fresh experiences (and the opportunity to explore letterpress) as well as techniques and projects to take back to the high-school studio (including programs with little or no printmaking equipment)!

Participants will create letterpress prints using wood and metal type on the Vandercook proof press. Polymer plate letterpress will be introduced. We will also explore the use of PVC foam board to make plates that can be used to create both relief and intaglio prints.

“Printmaking Studio” will include: morning instructional workshop, 10:00 am-12:30 pm; lunch 12:30-1:30 pm; and optional afternoon studio time, 1:30- 3:30 pm.

The maximum size for this workshop is 12 people. Participants will work directly with UConn Printmakers Laurie Sloan and John O’Donnell.

Tuesday, November 3rd. Register through the Department of Art & Art History, 860-486-3930 or art@uconn.edu. The cost, including materials and lunch, is $25.00.

A boxed lunch will be provided. Please let us know in advance if you have any dietary needs.

Erin Wiersma, Visiting Artist – 10/29/15 at 3:30 p.m.

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Visiting Artist Presentation:  Erin Wiersma

Thursday, October 29, 2015, at 3:30 p.m.

Arena Gallery, Art Building, Storrs Campus

 

 

Erin Wiersma is an artist, born in Somerville, New Jersey. She received her Master of Fine Arts from University of Connecticut, Bachelor of Art degree from Messiah College, and studied at Instituto Lodovico in Orvieto, Italy.

Wiersma’s work explores the intangible aspects of the human presence using her own being as a point of reference. Through her drawings she seeks to discover a confluence of the spiritual and material.

Wiersma has exhibited throughout the US, including recent exhibitions at Mallin Gallery at Kansas City Artist Coalition, Kansas City, MO, Soho20 Gallery, NY, NY, Sarah A. Coyne Gallery at Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, Marin Museum of Contemporary Art in Novato, CA and Rebecca Randall Bryan Art Gallery at Coastal Carolina University, Conway, SC. Wiersma’s drawing practice is included in publications including OnVerge – CUE Foundation, Art21Online Magazine and Two Coats of Paint. Currently Wiersma’s work is being represented in Brooklyn, NY at A.I.R. Gallery and she lives in Manhattan, Kansas.

Wiersma is an Assistant Professor of Art at Kansas State University. Images of her work are at www.erinwiersma.com.

Please contact Professor Judith Thorpe at judith.thorpe@uconn.edu with any questions.

 

 

START ART at Stamford Regional Campus

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The Department of Art & Art History will not be offering classes at the Waterbury regional campus in the coming academic year (2017-18). Prospective students are encouraged to apply to either Storrs (main campus) or Stamford regional campus.

WHY START AT STAMFORD?

There are lots of good reasons to start at Stamford. Small classes provide a supportive learning environment and the campus has a tight-knit and lively student community. Many UConn Stamford students live at home, which can be the right decision personally and financially.

FACULTY MENTORING

Stamford Studio Art students will work closely with Professor Pam Bramble of the Department of Art and Art History. With over twenty years of experience at UConn, Professor Bramble is an outstanding mentor and teacher. She supports her students’ creative and intellectual development, and sets them on the path to success in the arts. Additional courses are supported by other full-time faculty in Stamford or by our carefully selected adjunct faculty in Studio Art. All faculty, full-time or adjunct, hold terminal degrees in their fields of study.

THE CURRICULUM

Students will be able to complete fifteen credits of Studio Art classes plus 6 credits of Art History. Professor Bramble, along with our team of adjunct instructors, offers Drawing 1, Drawing 2, Basic Studio Painting, and Art Appreciation. Stamford will also offer Basic Studio: Photography and  Foundation: Studio Concepts on a regular basis. While starting the BFA degree at Stamford, students can make excellent progress on their General Education requirements because the campus offers a range of classes in the sciences, social sciences, and humanities.

HOW DO I APPLY?

Prospective freshman students can apply through the Common Application and indicate that they are applying for the BFA Degree in Studio Art either at Storrs or Stamford. An online portfolio is required for entry to the program at either campus (click here for details). Current regional-campus applicants or enrolled UConn students who are undeclared or in a different major but who would like to start the BFA Studio Art degree at Storrs should contact the Department of Art & Art History Office at art@uconn.edu or 860-486-3930.

HOW DO I MAKE A CAMPUS CHANGE TO STORRS IF I ATTEND STAMFORD REGIONAL CAMPUS?

The transfer to Storrs is seamless. After completing 54 credits at Stamford, students work with the Stamford Registrar’s Office to complete a Campus Change. No further portfolio review or application process is necessary.

JOIN US!

The UConn Department of Art & Art History is a leading Studio Art program nationally. It offers rich opportunities for Study Abroad, internships, and professional development in the arts. Beginning your degree at Stamford can be the ideal beginning to a BFA in Studio Art.

Admitted Students, Save the Date! “Spring into the Arts!” March 27th

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All students admitted to the BFA program in Studio Art and the BA program in Art History for Fall 2017 will be invited to spend an afternoon and evening with us on March 27th.  After a welcome from the Department Head and Dean, admitted students will participate in classes and enjoy a special dinner with faculty and current students. This is an opportunity to find out just how vibrant and creative our art community is.  Invitations will go out the first week in March; for additional information, please feel free to contact the Department office at 860-486-3930 or art@uconn.edu.

 

Design Students Study Abroad in London and Explore the UK Design World

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Junior-year Communication Design students are spending their Spring Semester studying at Central St. Martins in London, one of Europe’s premier art schools.  In a unique curriculum, they undertake projects collaboratively with their UK counterparts.  The program also incorporates an ambitious schedule of visits to design studios and museums.  To find out more, visit the UCdesignUK blog.