Fine art students put work on display
The University of Guelph Master of Fine Arts (MFA) Open Studios provided the public with the opportunity to experience the creative work of 14 MFA candidates. Last Wednesday, March 8 saw a triumphantly varied display of endeavors from across the program.
From fine art photography, to steel installation, to mixed media painting, the open studio put on an eclectic display.The conceptual pushing of two dimensional image-making in the paintings of Jessica Jang plays on the viewer’s recognition of certain forms and dimensional expectations. Here, a more traditional painted landscape visual can give way to pop culture influenced forms and painterly abstractions. Her work conveys a kind of cross section between graphic recollection, and almost psychedelic experience.
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While Peter Denton’s work bears similar interest in two dimensionality, it is incredibly different formally. Denton’s photographic works appear almost at first to be fractal abstractions, but on closer inquiry, reveal themselves to be large scale depictions of libraries and similar institutions. In these images, the precise and geometric depiction of indexical architecture acts as a signifier to the subject, a reflection of the purpose of what is on display.
Working directly with the third dimension, sculptor Andrew Buszchak’s steel sculptures might be the product of welding, yet appear almost weightless.As incredibly thin metal forms come up from the studio floor, one finds oneself pacing around them trying to find the source of their stability, whether that might be wire, or indeed perfect balance. Other sculptures exist closer to the floor, casting architectural shadows and inviting further inquiry into their graceful steel forms.
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Taking weightlessness a step further, Kevin Murphy’s projection onto the studio floor in Blackwood Hall finds the viewer staring directly into the sun. A camera follows the sun while moving, creating at first entry a pulsating burst of white light surrounded by a familiar shade of blue. As his work explores humankind’s inherent connection as part of the natural world, there is a certain humour in putting the sun and sky beneath your feet.If something tied all of the work together, it was a sense of conceptual completeness. Each individual seemed confident in the presentation of their work. A professional focus and collective polished finish were evidence of their commitment to their craft.
Photo by Tristan Crocker.