MFA Students’ Work featured at Anderson Gallery

By Tom Gresham

It’s opening night for some important undergraduate and graduate student arts exhibitions at VCU.

The VCU School of the Arts’ Anderson Gallery is featuring its annual MFA Thesis Exhibitions, showing works by the university’s talented degree candidates from the fields of craft and material studies, painting and printmaking, sculpture and extended media, interior design, kinetic imaging and photography and film.

Round one of the exhibitions opens tonight and will run from April 20 to April 29. Round two will be on view from May 4 to May 13. Both exhibitions feature opening night receptions that run from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The MFA Thesis Exhibitions are a staple of the spring, and Ashley Kistler, director of the Anderson Galery, said they occupy an essential place on the gallery’s calendar.

“In terms of the student services that the Anderson Gallery provides for the School of the Arts and the larger university community, our presentation each spring of the MFA thesis exhibitions is crucial,” Kistler said. “Showcasing the exceptional work of these young professional artists also underscores why VCUarts has such an outstanding reputation. Their installations collectively reveal a compendium of the concepts, approaches and materials that interest artists today, providing viewers with an excellent opportunity to discover and engage with contemporary art and ideas.”

The Anderson Gallery also hosts an annual Juried Design and Fine Arts Exhibition for undergraduate students who are taking fine art studio courses. This year, that exhibition ran from March 29 to April 15. Tina Kukielski, associate curator of the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh, served as juror for the exhibition.

In addition to round one of the MFA Exhibitions, tonight also marks the opening of the Senior Shows for undergraduate fine arts students in the School of the Arts.

The Department of Sculpture + Extended Media Senior Show opens at 7 p.m. at 1717 E. Main St. with a reception that will last until 10 p.m. The exhibition will be on view until May 4.

Back on campus, the Senior Show for students from the departments of Craft and Material Studies, Kinetic Imaging and Painting & Printmaking will open with a reception at 5 p.m. in the Fine Arts Building, 1000 W. Broad St. The reception runs until 8 p.m. The show will be on view through April 22.