The work of nine Master of Fine Arts students will be featured in three exhibitions showing April 4-22 in the Eisentrager•Howard Gallery in Richards Hall.
The first MFA Thesis Exhibition is April 4-8 and features the work of Joyce Bingeman, Patricia Davis and Meryl Engler. A reception will be 5 to 7 p.m. April 8 in the gallery.
The other two exhibitions and participating artists are:
April 11-15, Kendall Johnson, Qwist Joseph and Erin Schoenbeck. A reception will be 5 to 7 p.m. April 15.
April 18-22, Amanda Breitbach, Keith Graham and Shalya Marsh. A reception will be 5 to 7 p.m. April 22.
Bingeman’s exhibition is titled “Insight: An Invitation.” Originally from Rhode Island, Bingeman is a printmaker interested in social practice and art that involves interaction.
Davis’ exhibition is titled “Don’t Worry.” She is originally from Plash Island, a tiny fishing village nestled on Oyster Bay, near Gulf Shores, Alabama. She works in a variety of media including drawing, printmaking, painting, artist’s books and sculpture.
Engler’s exhibition is titled “Ripple, Surge, Release.” Engler grew up on the beaches in Southern California in Huntington Beach and has always felt a strong connection to the ocean. She draws upon her studies in religious theory and history in her abstract work by focusing on certain states of mind and almost ritualistic movements. The movement, energy and physical exertion of athletics is also vital in her work.
Johnson’s exhibition is titled “Until It Doesn’t.” He grew up on a farm in Haven, Kansas. He went to Kansas State University, where he received his B.F.A. in printmaking. His work has been exhibited in Des Moines, Iowa; Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska; Ontario, Canada and Minya, Egypt.
Joseph’s exhibition is titled “When the Wind Stops.” He was born and raised in the foothills of Fort Collins, Colorado. After many years of working and learning alongside his dad at the family foundry, he received his B.F.A. in pottery from Colorado State University and ventured to the nearby town of Loveland, where he and his partner opened a hybrid studio gallery space. After three years of individual studio practice and multiple artist assistantships, they moved to Lincoln.
Schoenbeck’s exhibition is titled “Maybe the Gate Could Be a Fan.” She was born in Lincoln and grew up in the town of Cortland, Nebraska. At UNL, she is enrolled in the painting and drawing program, but works across disciplines.
Breitbach’s exhibition is titled “Land/People.” Prior to attending graduate school, she was a volunteer with the United States Peace Corps in West Africa and worked as a newspaper photographer and reporter. Her photographs, videos and audio works focus on the connections between people and land. Growing up on a family farm and ranch in the wide-open landscape of eastern Montana fundamentally shaped the way she sees the world. Breitbach will give an artist lecture at 3:30 p.m. April 18 in the Center for Great Plains Studies, 1155 Q St.
Graham’s exhibition is titled “Zero Street.” He was born in Bend, Oregon, and grew up in Seattle. The title of his exhibition comes from a line in Allen Ginsberg’s poem, “Wichita Vortex Sutra,” referring to Lincoln’s O street. The exhibit features books and mixed media prints (mainly silkscreen with monotype and woodcut) responding to the physical environment of Lincoln, its people and how they shape each other.
Marsh’s exhibition is titled “Tangled Knot Tied.” Marsh is originally from upstate New York. She received her B.F.A. in ceramics from the State University of New York at New Paltz. Between undergraduate and graduate school, she exhibited, taught in the community, participated in residencies and worked in the nonprofit sector. Her current series of work is an investigation of knots as symbols for connection, apprehension, security and strength.
