Lift-Off 2013: MFA Grads Thesis Exhibition

Nineteen San Jose State University Master of Fine Art candidates graduating this spring will show their thesis art projects at Art Ark Gallery, May 3-18 (Lift-Off composite image).

Contact: Robert Chiarito, Graduate Coordinator, 408-924-4374 or 408-924-4320

SAN JOSE – Nineteen San Jose State University Master of Fine Art candidates graduating this spring will show their thesis art projects at Art Ark Gallery, May 3-18. Designed by independent curator and art writer Christian L. Frock, the exhibit illustrates the depth and breath of the university’s art and art history program.

Graduating students represent the Pictorial Art, Spatial Art, Photography and Digital Media Art programs in the Department of Art and Art History. The artists are A R A, Armine Sargsyan, Avery Palmer, Barbara Boissevain, David Kempken, Elena Polanco, Esteban Salazar, Gloria Huet, Jacqueline Donecho, Jeffrey Opp, Jen, Jonathan Huang, Kat McKinnon (KGM), Lan Liu, Marianne Lettieri, Meiru Huang, Sieglinde Van Damme, Wesley Wright, and Yvonne Escalante.

The MFA studio art students collaborated with MA art history graduate students to produce a 100-page publication for the Lift-Off 2013 exhibition. The catalog includes images of the art work, foreword by Christian L. Frock, and critical essays written by SJSU student art historians Allison Connor, Ashley Gardini, Emily McEwan, Lale Yasemin Kaya, Megan Merritt, and Melanie Dove. Copies will be available at the exhibition and can be ordered.

Christian L. Frockis the director of Invisible Venue, an independent curatorial enterprise she founded in 2005 that collaborates with artists to present art in the public realm. She is a regular contributor to KQED Arts, Art Practical, San Francisco Arts Monthly, and art ltd. Frock has a masters degree from Goldsmiths College, University of London.The Art Ark Gallery is located on the Art Ark Apartments property, a thriving Artisan Village in the heart of the Martha Gardens Arts District in San Jose. Since 2006 the gallery has provided a space where emerging local artists can explore possibilities and engage the public.

Founded in 1913, the SJSU Art and Art History department is one of the largest at the university, attracting students worldwide. In 2012 US News and World Report rated it as one of the top 100 MFA visual arts programs in the country. Notable artists associated with the school include Tim Hawkinson, Binh Danh, Jay DeFeo, Wayne Thiebaud, Mel Ramos, Robert Graham, Mark Tansey, Harry Powers, Rupert Garcia, Fletcher Benton and Consuelo Jimenez-Underwood.

Lift-Off 2013 will be installed at Art Ark Gallery, 1035 S. Sixth St., San Jose, and open to the public noon-4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Artists will serve as gallery docents during opening hours. A reception will be held on May 3, 6 to 9 p.m. Admission is free.