University Of Maryland Art Gallery Presents 2016 Mfa Thesis Exhibition

An exhibition that marks the culmination of fine arts education and training in the University of Maryland Department of Art.

For Immediate Release

April 25, 2016

Contact: Taras W. Matla, tmatla@umd.edu, 301-405-1474

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND ART GALLERY PRESENTS 2016 MFA THESIS EXHIBITION

The Artistic Culmination of the MFA Candidate Process

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – From May 11 through May 27, 2016, the University of Maryland Art Gallery presents the 2016 MFA Thesis Exhibition, an exhibition that marks the culmination of fine arts education and training in the University of Maryland Department of Art. This year the exhibition features work by two Department of Art MFA candidates: Dane Winkler and Jowita Wyszomirska.

"The annual MFA Thesis Exhibition is one of the signature events in the Department of Art,” said Department of Art chairman W.C. Richardson. “This year's candidates are two of the strongest in recent memory and have already established themselves as artists-to-watch in the region.” 

This exhibition is organized by the University of Maryland Art Gallery and the Department of Art. An opening reception for 2016 MFA Thesis Exhibition will be held on Wednesday, May 11, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the University of Maryland Art Gallery, 2202 Art-Sociology Bldg., College Park, MD 20742. For more information, please call 301-405-2763 or email artgallery@umd.edu. Admission is free and open to the public.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Dane Winkler’s work transforms found objects, buildings and sites into large-scale sculptures and interactive installations. For this work, the artist has utilized his background in subsistence agriculture to reinterpret fragments of a dismantled 100-year-old barn from rural Maryland. The final sculptures recall their former lives as they take upon a new structural vocabulary and perspective within the space of the gallery. A series of archival videos depict the original object and site and allow the viewer to consider Winkler’s approach and process.

Winkler’s work was recently the subject of a solo exhibition at the Hamiltonian Gallery in Washington, D.C., as well as numerous other exhibitions throughout the mid-Atlantic region. Winkler was the recipient of a 2015-2016 Hamiltonian Fellowship Award and a 2015 Emergency Grant from New York’s Foundation for Contemporary Art. His upcoming shows include a solo exhibition at The Delaware Contemporary, formerly called the Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts.

Jowita Wyszomirska’s work, which begins as a subjective compilation of empirical data, illustrates her artistic exploration into the nature of transitory space. Wyszomirska’s practice employs drawing, marking, cutting, folding, erasing, layering and stringing to create heavily stratified 3-D drawings. For this work, Wyszomirska has produced a large drawing along the gallery’s back wall and suspended extensions of the drawing into the visitor’s space. These extensions allow the visitor to contemplate the artist’s interest in transitions of space from various perspectives, including from within the work.

The Baltimore Museum of Art’s 2015 Baker Artists Awards Exhibition featured Wyszomirska’s work, and the artist has featured in various local and national shows. She previously held residency fellowships at the Jentel Foundation and the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts, as well as internationally at the International School of Painting, Drawing and Sculpture in Umbria, Italy.

###

About the University of Maryland Art Gallery

Established in 1965, the University of Maryland Art Gallery is part of the College of Arts and Humanities and the flagship visual arts venue at the University of Maryland. The gallery is located at 2202 Parren J. Mitchell Art-Sociology Building, College Park, Maryland. Gallery hours: Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The gallery is closed Saturday and Sunday, major holidays and on days that home sports events are held at Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium. Admission is free and open to the public. The gallery’s office hours: Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The office is closed on Saturday and Sunday and major holidays. For general information, please call 301-405-2763 or visit the website at www.artgallery.umd.edu.

About the University of Maryland

The University of Maryland is the state's flagship university and one of the nation's preeminent public research universities. A global leader in research, entrepreneurship and innovation, the university is home to more than 37,000 students, 9,000 faculty and staff, and 250 academic programs. Its faculty includes three Nobel laureates, three Pulitzer Prize winners, 47 members of the national academies and scores of Fulbright scholars. The institution has a $1.8 billion operating budget, secures $500 million annually in external research funding and recently completed a $1 billion fundraising campaign. For more information about the University of Maryland, visit www.umd.edu.