April 6 – 29, 2023
The annual Bachelor of Fine Arts exhibition showcases what our graduating students have been working on.
Featuring work by:
| Gloria Steiger | Bachelor of Fine Art (BFA) in Studio Arts with a concentration in Painting and Drawing, Minor in Art History |
| Shalyssa Hamberger | Bachelor of Fine Art (BFA) in Studio Arts with a concentration in Sculpture |
| Kristin Golden | Bachelor of Fine Art (BFA) in Studio Arts with a concentration in Painting and Drawing |
| Annika Soderberg | Bachelor of Art (BA) in Studio Art with a concentration in Ceramics |
| Rose DiMuzio | Bachelor of Fine Art (BFA) in Studio Arts with a double concentration in Ceramics and Painting and Drawing, Minor in Psychology |
| Anna M Bruner | Bachelor of Fine Art (BFA) in Studio Arts with a concentration in Painting and Drawing, Minor in Art History |
| Krystal Yavicoli | Bachelor of Fine Art (BFA) in Studio Arts with a double concentration in Ceramics and Painting and Drawing |
| Ali Dion | Bachelor of Fine Art (BFA) in Studio Arts with a concentration in Painting and Drawing, Minor in Game Design |
Exhibition Galleries
Anna M Bruner
Bachelor of Fine Art (BFA) in Studio Arts with a concentration in Painting and Drawing, Minor in Art History
I am a multidisciplinary artist intrigued by the intricacies of human experience. I’m inspired by art history, folk tales, and everyday life. My chosen media takes many forms from oil painting, printmaking, digital art, and even pyrography. At the center of my work, regardless of the many forms it takes, is storytelling.
During my last semester at The University of Southern Maine, I’ve been exploring the quote “We all know something is eternal,” from the 1935 play Our Town. This quote highlights one way in which we process death. How individuals navigate mortality, and either accept death, or attempt to become larger than life.
Rose DiMuzio
Bachelor of Fine Art (BFA) in Studio Arts with a double concentration in Ceramics and Painting and Drawing, Minor in Psychology
Rose DiMuzio is pursuing a degree in art therapy. She finds much of her creative motivation comes from her interactions with others. Art has been a grounding tool in her life and has helped the artist to be in touch with emotion in the hardest times. She hopes to share that with others through her work and practice.
Art is about emotion. In these works, I use realism and representational imagery to convey feelings and narrative. Through symbolism, I focus on concepts of stress, loss, and grief. Gratitude for people, places, and the past is a fundamental part of my work.
I am interested in truth, beauty, and perception. I find grounding in truth, but recognize that truth is not universal. Every person’s perception of the truth differs. Truth is not always easy to accept, but when acknowledged, truth is personal, powerful, and liberating.
Bodies are a focus of my work. Human, animal, or otherwise; there is true beauty in anatomy. Anatomy means life, and with life comes connection and emotion. In my paintings, I display truthful, anatomically accurate figures I utilize memory and imagination when working sculpturally to create more expressive moments inspired by bodies.
The oranges in my series of paintings called Marmalade are a symbol for the accumulation of stress over time.
Ali Dion
Bachelor of Fine Art (BFA) in Studio Arts with a concentration in Painting and Drawing, Minor in Game Design
This series explores the concept of facing change through the expression of clouds as shapes in a composition. To create this work, I investigated the different textures of oil paint with the use of pattern, layering, and scraping. I am sharing my history with mental health through the creation of abstract patterns. I want the work to communicate experiences that may speak only to me, but may also connect to a larger audience.
Kristin Golden
Bachelor of Fine Art (BFA) in Studio Arts with a concentration in Painting and Drawing
A goal of my work is to find moments of flow within myself. When I am in a state of flow, the resulting work is a surprise, which brings me a feeling of discovery and the unknown.
There is an inherent challenge in painting a moving subject from life, outdoors. I take inspiration from the changing light and atmosphere to create something that happens in the moment. What occurs in nature is important to me: the movement of water and light and the stillness of rocks. The holes in dirt that worms crawl through. Finding breath in space, like the white surfaces on my
paper which I leave blank for possibility. I love exploration and openness.
I am, alternatingly, very loose and very precise in my work. My practice allows me to increase my skills while simultaneously going with the flow and discovering some marks I had not, initially, thought of achieving. Combining the combination of precise technique and flow, creates something compelling.
Shalyssa Hamberger
Bachelor of Fine Art (BFA) in Studio Arts with a concentration in Sculpture
Shalyssa Hamberger is a 26-year-old non-binary artist living in Portland, Maine. They work in site-specific installation, featuring both found and made objects in created space. Their resulting immersive assemblages tell stories and evoke emotions.
Shalyssa’s installations reveal the sides of us that we don’t always like to show. They are interested in relaying individual stories of mental health and human experience. Working through the medium of installation art offers the opportunity to create narratives in isolated space. Their self-contained installations offer stories free from the interruptions of reality, engendering environments fostering focus and distinctive engagement opportunities for viewers.
Surrender to the Moment explores the dynamics between drag performers and their communities. Featuring an audio interview with local queen Chartreuse Money, this installation seeks to evoke the connections that these performers create. Surrender to the Moment is an investigation of the relational web that unites participant, performer, viewer, and community.
Annika Soderberg
Bachelor of Art (BA) in Studio Art with a concentration in Ceramics
I enjoy making utilitarian ceramics that have a funky and curvy shape. I prefer to use glazes that create depth based on how it is fired, while still paying attention to surface treatment. My goal in my work is to make people want to hold it and explore the forms through their bright colors and shapes. I create functional work because I like the idea of having something bright and fun to use in everyday life, something meant to be enjoyed in the hands rather than just with the eyes. This experience makes it feel personal.
Last year, I had an opportunity to intern at a studio that used wood-fired kilns. This was intriguing to me because I had never experienced the process before and it allowed me to build my skills and create work I had never imagined or thought I would be able to create. Through this process the wood burns and flames deposits ash onto the surface of the pottery; this adds crystallization, it may drip or even submerge a piece. While the wood is burning the flames can also create scorch marks showing the way the fire has danced around the pottery during this kiln firing.
Overall, I hope my work excites others with the joy the colors and texture bring. I want someone to hold a mug or a bowl while enjoying a meal and feel at home.
Gloria Steiger
Bachelor of Fine Art (BFA) in Studio Arts with a concentration in Painting and Drawing, Minor in Art History
I am interested in how abstraction fosters opportunities for new perspectives. I want my work to have a visceral impact that hits the viewer physically with color, shape, and line, revealing its subject more slowly. Shadows take on solidity, giving visceral weight to abstracted emotion, while the observed world becomes less apparent.
My sculptural work has always leaned more towards abstraction than my painting. Returning to sculpture now via ceramics allows me to examine the questions I have about representation, and how to travel between media. Three-dimensional representation can, at times, be too direct for me. But, I am finding that fragments submerged in forms and direct actions of play/breaking/dissolving are part of my answer.
This body of work is about the days and specific moments surrounding the sudden illness and death of my horse Will. I was initially driven to catalog the moments and images as quickly and franticly as I could. The herd’s pain, panic, grief, and Will’s pain, relief, and quiet — the postures and expressions of legs, eyes, and shoulders are universal. We all love and grieve. As I continue with the project, the movements and motions of painting and sculpting are an echo of my caregiving and time with Will.
Krystal Yavicoli
Bachelor of Fine Art (BFA) in Studio Arts with a double concentration in Ceramics and Painting and Drawing
My ceramics are inspired by the beauty and subtleties in nature. You can find me regularly in the woods admiring the forest floor and gaining inspiration for new work. One of the main objectives in my work is to create a playful, joyous, and contemplative feeling, similar to how I feel after spending time in nature. I enjoy the physical nature of working with ceramics and creating both functional pieces and abstract sculptures. Some of my favorite processes in ceramics revolve around primitive firing techniques and the use of local and
natural materials in those firings.
This body of paintings is inspired by the natural awe and wonder of water. Water is a natural force to be reckoned with, it has massive power that can either create or destroy. It is essential to life and is healing to the soul. I hope to capture some of the properties of water that evoke those raw emotions. I have incorporated varying physical elements in the process of creating these works, such as melting snow, ocean water and rainwater. My hopes are that these paintings will transport you into a watery chasm.
