BFA Culminating Exhibitions

Past Exhibitions

• Natalie Jenkins - Displacement - Fall 22'
  A Culminating ExhibitionFor the Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree by:

  Natalie Jenkins

  Mentors:

  • Professor J. Pouwel
  • Professor Trevor Lalaguna

  Artist Statement

  "Home embodies many nuances, such as being an emotional response to how a person or
  environment makes them feel or being an actual building where one resides. Having moved so
  often throughout the years, sentimental feelings that are often connected to a home were absent.
  Growing up, painting was an escape from these inconsistencies of my everyday life and now is
  used as a method of recollection. This body of work explores the differences between internal
  and external spaces of what a home can be.

  Process is an important aspect when creating each piece. Through the action of pouring,
  I consider principles of modernism such as allowing paint to be marks on a two dimensional
  surface, rather than create the illusion of depth. The fragmentation of space and monochromatic
  color palette create a sense of instability that distorts conventional representations of home which
  alludes to perceived nostalgia of times that are lost.

  I am influenced by American Abstract Expressionists Helen Frankenthaler and Robert
  Motherwell. Using Frankenthaler’s staining techniques creates contrast between the organic
  setting and the rigid planes in each work. Like Motherwell's work, I am drawn to Christopher
  Brown’s handling of scale and placement."

  Website

  Social Media

Displacement Showcard

Displacement

BSo Gallery Exhibition

Keep the Blinds Closed

Stay Inside

When Are You Gonna Be Home

Why Don't You Come By

• Gracie Gomes - In Pursuit Of Perfection - Fall 22'
  A Culminating Exhibition For the Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree by:

  Gracie Gomes

  Mentors:

  • Professor J. Pouwel
  • Professor Trevor Lalaguna

  Artist Statement

  "Analyzing the way that women’s beauty functions as an industry amplified by social
  media is the driving force behind my artistic practice. Some of the methods promoted online that
  are used to augment one’s appearance can be painful and dangerous, and lead me to wonder just
  how much money we are willing to spend and what we are willing to inflict on ourselves in
  pursuit of perfection. My current series of portrait paintings captures images from these lengthy,
  arduous grooming routines often adopted by women in the West and contorts them toward the
  grotesque in order to reflect my frustration.

  My painting practice involves documenting the performance of various beauty regimens.
  Through cropping, scale, and gestural brushwork, I explore how they can be reframed as an act
  of violence instead of self-care. The frequent use of red and pink paint in my work represents
  both the appearance of raw, irritated skin and the anger I feel surrounding this topic.
  I am influenced by contemporary female artists Gina Beavers and Marilyn Minter for
  their use of exaggerated cropping and scale, as well as Jenny Saville’s delicate balance between
  expressionism and realism. Drawing on these artists’ work for inspiration allows me to consider
  my practice within the larger context of contemporary feminist art."

  Website

  Social Media

In persuit of Perfection Showcard

The Artist Gracie Gomes

BSo Gallery Exhibition

In Persuit of Perfection

In Persuit of Perfection

Gracie Gomes

• Delaney Cox - Residual - Fall 22'

  A Culminating ExhibitionFor the Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree by:

  Delaney Cox

  Mentors:

  • Professor J. Pouwel
  • Professor Eileen Macdonald

  Artist's Statement:

  "A driving force for this body of work is the dangerous relationship between post-industrial humans and the environment. Within this relationship, a cyclical pattern of construction and deconstruction, or growth and death exists; one form cannot be created without the deterioration of another. The creation of man-made objects, or of a human itself, requires the depletion of Earth and its resources in one way or another. I have experimented with this notion through the practice of making and sculpting paper pulp. With the intent of managing a space that hosts both formation and corruption simultaneously, all aspects of the process are shown--the warped, water-damaged substrates containing residual paintings that represent process, movement, and the passing of time, along with the paper created there. There is a direct relationship between paper and wood that is emphasized in an unconventional way through this process. Instead of manipulating the wood to make the physical paper pulp, it is used as a vessel for the process. The final paper sculptures as well as the wooden substrates are fragile, weak and tense; all descriptors of the Earth after human inhabitation."

Residual Showcard

Weak Connections

Engulfed

Residual Box 1 (Spirulina)

Petrified

Residual Box 3 (Cherry/Walnut)

• Joel Solis - Al Lado De La Calle - Fall 22'

  A Culminating Exhibition for the Bachelor of Fine Arts by:
  Joel Solis

  
  Mentors:

  • J. Pouwels
  • Eileen Macdonald
  • Trevor Lalaguna

  
  Artist's Statement

  "Along my daily commutes, I find myself constantly drawn to the Latino and Mexican street vendors on the side of the road. The stands
  are symbolic of the individuals who make their living selling products on the streets. They also bring a feeling of both nostalgia and division as I
  become more distant within a community I grew up surrounded by. My current series of paintings documents the workers' while recognizing their
  importance socially and culturally within our community.
  My practice starts by interacting with the street vendors seen along the road. Approaching their stand is crucial within my process, as it
  allows me to take photographs of the workers and translate them onto oil paintings. When photographing, I position the camera in different angles
  while playing with perspectives and cropping of images. Each painting focuses on different emphasis, like the environment they are working in or,
  a more intimate approach, as if the viewer were purchasing an item.
  I am influenced by contemporary artists Lui Xiaodong and American painter Robert Bechtle by their use of colors and application of
  paint. Richard Diebenkorn is another influence for his use of establishing planes and space through directional mark making. Referencing these
  artists’ helps me consider my place in the larger world of contemporary art."

  Social Media

Al Lado De La Calle Showcard

Joel Solis with his piece "Raspados"

BSo Exhibition

"Tamales" Oil on Linen

"Chicharones" Oil on Canvas

"Raspados"

• Nick Mcmenamin - Dr. Zoilenberg's Journal of the Inhospitable - Fall 22'
  A Culminating Exhibition for the Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree by:

  Nick Mcmenamin

  Mentors:

  • Professor J. Pouwel
  • Professor Trevor Lalaguna

  Artist Statement

  "My current body of work consists of large scale ink wash drawings that explore outcomes of human activity through invention and narration. A shift in subject matter occurred during the Covid-19 pandemic to match fears and anxiety of what felt like an apocalypse. Working with figures and landscapes to show a mutated not so distant future where we have to live with the side effects of overconsumption.

  
  Creating work with the intent of exposing a new reality surrounding the aftermath of pollution and climate change. Showing these imagined people and places embody the anxiety my generation feels having to suffer the mistreatment of previous generations. Mutating figures and animals while considering how the survivors of the looming apocalypse are forced to interact with their surroundings.
  Drawing ink on large scale hotpress watercolor paper has been what the work has progressed into. Working in black and white with the intention of distorting time and technology. Ink wash allows for a variety of gestural mark making, posing an interesting challenge to render believable spaces without color.

  Influences come from many different sources. Looking at illustrators who work with designing futuristic or
  fantastical environments such as Mobius and Ian McQue. Pulling from contemporary Chinese artists such as Sun Xun and
  Yongbo Zhao for ink technical inspiration. Trying to incorporate the immediate surroundings and life experience as well to
  tell narratives within the work.
  Creating and inventing post apocalyptic images feels especially relevant as more time passes. Building upon the
  long history of apocalyptic doomsayers dating back to the renaissance's religious depictions of the day of judgment.
  Reminding the viewer of the possible impending doom."

  Website

  Social Media

Dr. Zoilenberg's Journal of the Inhospitable Showcard

• Tamara Murphy - Precious and Intelligent Self-Contained Multitudes - Fall 22'

  A Culminating Exhibition For the Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree by:

  Tamara Murphy

  Mentors:

  • Cameron Crawford
  • Susan Whitmore 

  Artist's Statement:

  "My work uses clay, glass and fabric to create abstract forms and lighting design. Using local materials such as clay, sand, and agricultural waste in these objects provides a grounding connection to the local ecology while lowering one’s carbon footprint. By collecting and harvesting these materials myself I become intimately aware of our ecosystems and make work responding to visual and energetic aspects of it. I am drawn to process-intensive materials such as ceramics and glass for the physical connection that I forge with them.
  I design my work into both functional and sculptural forms inspired by artists Katie Stout and Isabel Rower. Functionality is an ethical choice - a decision to prioritize the energy used in creating an object that is as useful as it is beautiful. I balance these functional works with narrative sculptural forms to bring further depth into my concepts. I am able to use volume and weight as truths rather than as suggestions of concept, as Sol Lewitt said, “three-dimensional art of any kind is a physical fact.” I further define the scale of these objects with a geometric surface of grids or lines.
  Intuitive decision making is crucial to my entire process from the first thought till the placement of my work. After a work’s
  completion I return to the extraction site to photograph the piece in situ. This allows me to explore the effects of human intervention on an environment and more deeply consider my connection to where I live. My lifelong connection to the Sacramento River Valley has allowed for an intimate relationship to the water and rocks of the area. Such as the tied rock sculptures of Laura Livingston Fischer, I use the imagery of the area to deepen the viewer’s connection to Northern California’s complicated history with water and property.
  My work individually has intentions of creating an ecologically focused and sustainable future"

  Social Media

Prescious and Intelligent Self-Contained Multitudes Showcard

Approximations of place (perforated vessels) Stoneware + cotton, recycled poly-fill) 21”x13”x3”

Approximations of place (perforated vessels) Stoneware + cotton, recycled poly-fill) 21”x13”x3”

Recounting Home

Recounting Breath

Glass Lamp

Regional Studies Glass Stones