Gallery opens for MFA, BFA exhibitions

The most anticipated moment of an art student’s college career is usually the thesis exhibition.

That moment came for nine students when the Grunwald Gallery at the School of Fine Arts presented this year’s first bachelor’s and master’s of fine arts thesis show Friday night.

Ranging from jewelry made of used IV tubes to paintings of cows, the opening exhibited an extensive sampler of subjects and mediums.

“I think this show speaks volumes about the artists’ work ethic,” said Nathan Donnelly, a student who monitors the gallery. “When I look at this collection, I think the common link among the pieces is how hard you can tell every one of them worked.”

BFA photography student Kendra Wainscott said she was interested in gender dynamics in women’s contact sports, which she studied by shooting a series of close-up photographs of her rugby team.

She said she’s glad the extensive work is behind her.

“My thesis contains 17 images, and I picked those from two-and-a-half semesters’ worth of photographs,” Wainscott said. “The hardest part about the whole project was having to pick so few photographs and making a cohesive body of work out of them. I’m glad it’s done.”

Alison Hale, one of Wainscott’s teammates, said being photographed for the thesis gave her an interesting

perspective on herself and her teammates.

“The coolest thing is seeing how we all look when we’re playing a match,” Hale said. “We don’t ever get to see that side of ourselves. I’m thankful for it.”
Donnelly said he was thankful his post at the front of the gallery gave him a chance to build a special connection with the pieces.

“I feel like my relationship with the art in here is definitely more intimate than what most people might have as they walk through here at an opening,” he said. “I have to sit here and stare at it all day. That really allows me to get to know the artists through what they do.”

He said it’s exciting to see all the work in a different light — literally.

“I get to see things like nobody else does,” he said. “Before I flip the lights on every day, all the pieces have a certain mystique about them. It’s a cool experience.”

Donnelly said he estimated at least 200 guests showed up to Friday’s gallery opening. After they filed through the three rooms of the gallery, after MFA student Nicole Simpkins stole their attention with her performance dressed as a dying moth and after all the hors d’oeuvres had disappeared, the show was over.

“What I enjoyed most about tonight is seeing all the friends and family come to congratulate all the artists,” said Eli Klapperich, another one of Wainscott’s rugby teammates. “It’s nice to watch them see that all their hard work has finally paid off.”