Spring BFA Exhibition at The University of Toledo CVA

Eye On Art | 04/05/2012 9:00 am

The University of Toledo Center for Visual Arts Gallery is pleased to present the artwork of graduating BFA students Joseph Buehrer, Qina Chen, Ali Fisher, Julia LaBay and Rachelle Raymer-Gilbert. These five emerging artists will be featured in UT’s 2012 Bachelor of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition that runs April 9 through May 13. The opening reception will be held Friday, April 13 from 6 to 8 p.m.

Joseph Buehrer, from Temperance, Michigan, uses drawing, photography and digital media to create artwork that illustrates a fictional narrative titled “The Divine”. “The Divine”, authored by Buehrer, is a chronicle of a dystopian future, a world slowly recovering from an environmental disaster and ruled by a totalitarian government.

Qina Chen, from Wuhan, China, is inspired by the collision and fusion of Asian and Western cultures. Within this multi-cultural context, Chen reflects on the emotional impact of her ‘teenage years’, creating digital paintings possessing surreal, dream-like qualities.

Ali Fisher, a Division I Collegiate Runner from Lebanon, Ohio, creates artwork that combines drawing, printmaking, photography and digital technology to analytically explore the duality of control and chaos found in athletic experience.

Julia LaBay, from Holland, Ohio, working primarily with sculpture, revisits her personal history for inspiration. Rather than creating realistic portraits of past experiences, LaBay seeks to create metaphorical interpretations that serve the present.

Rachelle Raymer-Gilbert, from Vallejo, California, explores the nature of motherhood, utilizing photography as her medium. In particular, Raymer-Gilbert records moments and objects that symbolize the transformative nature of the mother and daughter relationship.

The exhibition and reception are free and open to the public. UT’s Center for Visual Arts is located next to The Toledo Museum of Art’s campus on Monroe Street. Pay parking is available in any of TMA’s lots, and is free for Museum members. For more information, visit the UT Department of Art at http://www.utoledo.edu/cvpa/art/index.html.