Work of Recent MFA Graduates: Virginia Commonwealth University Department of Painting & Printmaking

So Inclined features the work of fifteen recent graduates of the Painting and Printmaking Department of Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of the Arts and demonstrates the extraordinary talent and energy of these emerging artists. It is the inaugural show for the VCU Painting and Printmaking graduates at the Denise Bibro Gallery. The work exhibited contributes to the development of contemporary painting and explores its boundaries, utilizes diverse media and processes, and displays great virtuosity, intelligence, and bravado.

Saul Becker makes drawings and paintings exploring the notion of composite landscape. Jorge Benitez creates highly rendered, politically engaged drawings. Calvin Burton’s colorful paintings “collage” the representational with the abstract. Jason Coates work employs imagery associated with the comic and satirical Jared Lindsay Clark explores art through the use of found and thrift store materials. Lauren Clay constructs large-scale pastel-colored paper installations. Mike Erickson’s quirky and humorous work explores Pop Art and Celebrity Culture. Heather Harvey’s subtle and minimal wall installations speak of material and deconstruction. Rachel Hayes constructs extensive installations using fabric and vinyl. Andy Kozlowski’s work is based on keen observation and irony. Joseph McSpadden makes seductive three-dimensional forms using paint. Eric Sall’s creates an explosion of imagery in his abstract paintings. Jody Schwab constructs colorful sensitive paintings that are evocative. Marian Brunn Smith examines intimacy and vulnerability using the female body as her muse. Randy Toy explores all of the potential in printmaking through an interest in Eastern Philosophy.

The VCU Painting MFA program is ranked #10 in the United States (US News & World Report). Guided by an outstanding faculty and prominent visiting artists, it attracts highly talented and diverse students from around the world, and its graduates are widely recognized as some of the most innovative artists working today. The Department of Painting and Printmaking has a fast growing reputation as a national leader in painting, printmaking, drawing, theory, digital media, and new genres. The Department has recently initiated a new high tech program – the Center for Digital Print Media.

The School of the Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University is ranked sixth in the nation among all schools of art and design (US News & World Report) and is first among public university art schools. Offering a program as creative as the field of study, the 15 departments of the School encompass all aspects of the performing and visual arts and design. A branch campus in Doha, Qatar, makes the School of the Arts international in impact. Graduates are widely recognized for their early and remarkable achievements, and the faculty for their exceptional professional and artistic accomplishments.