The works of five contemporary artists in the Master of Fine Arts in Visual Arts program at Jacksonville University will be on display Aug. 3-24 in the Alexander Brest Gallery on campus, with an opening reception for the MFA program from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 3.
The artists include:
Vellangi Stringos, an Indian adopted by Americans, who takes you on a journey through the struggles of heritage and cross-cultural identity relating to international adoption. She uses mixed media consisting of acrylic, tissue and photographic transfers to provide a textured study of the physicality of a place.
Chris Stephen, whose work explores identity through mixed media canvas assemblages to craft a visual language of symbolism that transcends religion and traditional social constructs.
Roselynn Imbleau, who creates abstract landscapes, with palette knife and brush, about distilled moments associated with age and memory.
Jane Griffo, a Brazilian artist whose instillations investigate space, time and spiritualty.
Angela Casini, whose series of portraits and narrative paintings explore generational identity and the dichotomy of parent-child relationships.
All five artists will be available to discuss their work at the gallery opening.
The two-year low-residency program in the College of Fine Arts’ MFA Visual Arts begins with a six-week Summer Intensive curriculum followed by two non-resident semesters using a combination of online and distance study with JU faculty and mentors who work one-on-one with each student to expand their project-based work. The MFA Visual Arts is geared to artists in transition or seeking to boost their careers. and emphasizes conceptual and the creative process of generating new works that are grounded in both classical and contemporary art genres.
The Alexander Brest Gallery is in the Phillips Fine Arts building at Jacksonville University, 2800 University Blvd. N., 32211. For more information on the exhibit, contact Associate Professor of Art Animation Bill Hill at whill@ju.edu. For more on the MFA Visual Arts, visit http://www.ju.edu/cfa/MFAVisualArts.