Department of Art presents the M.F.A. Thesis Exhibitions 2024

The UC Irvine Claire Trevor School of the Arts Department of Art proudly announces the opening of the 2024 M.F.A. thesis exhibitions, showcasing the culmination of three years of intensive study and creative exploration by its graduate candidates.

Under the guidance of a globally acclaimed faculty, the graduate program at UC Irvine offers a dynamic and interdisciplinary platform for visual arts education. The program comprising a comprehensive curriculum of core and elective classes in production, theory, and contemporary issues, the program fosters both creative and critical development among its students. This ethos is further enriched by the university's status as a leading research institution, allowing graduate students to access courses across various departments and programs, enhancing their academic experience.

The 2024 M.F.A. thesis exhibitions present the solo works of the following candidates:

• Alberto Lule
• Gintautė Skvernytė
• Joshua Thomen
• Mona Welch
• Lauren Goldenberg Longoria
• Liz Stringer
• Devin Wilson

The exhibitions are divided into two rounds, with the first featuring Alberto Lule, Gintautė Skvernytė, Joshua Thomen, and Mona Welch. Please join the department for an opening reception for "Part 1" on Saturday, April 20, from 2 to 5 p.m. "Part 2" will showcase the works of Lauren Goldenberg Longoria, Liz Stringer, and Devin Wilson, with their opening reception scheduled for Saturday, May 11, from 2 to 5 p.m.

These exhibitions not only highlight the artistic achievements of the M.F.A. candidates but also underscore the Department of Art's commitment to nurturing creative excellence and fostering a vibrant intellectual community.

Read further to learn more about the artists and their work. Both exhibitions will be held at the Contemporary Arts Center Gallery, University Art Gallery and Room Galler. Admission is free and open to the public.

M.F.A. Thesis Exhibitions, Part 1
April 20 – May 4, 2024
Opening: Saturday, April 20 from 2–5 p.m.

Alberto Lule  |  Displacement Erratic
Examines the displacement of the body through various systems. Artworks attempt to find connections between overlooked systems of power, often seen as unrelated.

Gintautė Skvernytė  |  Switch
Works shown: Paraffin Slides, Flicks (contact prints), Still, and a character named Sugar.

Joshua Thomen  |  On a Particularly Windy Day
This latest exhibition of sculptures deepens a sense of animacy within the decorative, ephemeral, and unseen. Disparate ways of working come together to weave a quiet and wistful poem.

Mona Welch  |  7 Paintings for Spring
A yellow painting, a blue painting, three brown paintings, a red painting, and a beige one.

M.F.A. Thesis Exhibitions, Part 2
May 11 – 25, 2024
Opening: Saturday, May 11 from 2–5 p.m.

Lauren Goldenberg Longoria  |  Sweet Spit
Lauren Goldenberg Longoria’s paintings are vulnerable meditations of material, memory, and time. Rooted in a spirit of cannibalizing, Sweet Spit considers how her papermaking process simultaneously relates to the body, nostalgic objects in her grandmother’s home, and the compulsive desire to squeeze what’s oozing. These compact paper works are sympathetic to eachother in how they scaffold, disguise, and unearth.

Liz Stringer  |  The Showings
Horror is the allure of the forbidden, and what is more forbidden than a body? The Showings is a sculptural procession of amalgamated ceramic, steel, copper, and resin that compound to articulate a body in various stages of protection and metamorphosis. Within this material drama, this existential narrative navigates the various ways in which monstrosity reveals a cultural understanding of a body and its corporeal dread.

Devin Wilson  |  The Pigeon Has Landed
The Pigeon Has Landed explores the pigeon as the symbolic nexus of capitalism. Serving as both a reflection on obsolete technology in delivery services and an exploration of pigeons as agents of militarized spying, the project confronts the whimsical yet unsettling conspiracy theory that posits "Birds Aren't Real." Through the use of digital fabrication and advanced engineering processes, the work in the exhibition explores the satirical nature of internet meme culture which produces, replicates, and disseminates fictional narratives and misinformation.

University Art Gallery | 712 Arts Plaza
CAC Gallery | Contemporary Arts Center | Bldg 721
Room Gallery | Art Culture and Technology | Bldg 727

Gallery Hours: Tuesday–Saturday | 12–6pm
Email: gallery@uci.edu
Please follow @uag_ucirvine on Instagram or visit www.uag.arts.uci.edu

Media Contact:
Sasha Ussef, Associate Director
sussef@uci.edu

Parking:
Mesa Parking Structure
4002 Mesa Road, Irvine, CA 92617
Price: $15/day or $4/hr
After turning onto Mesa Road, take the second right and drive towards the first floor kiosk of the parking structure. Or take a right at the first stop sign to pass through the second floor kiosk. If there is no attendant stationed, visit parking.uci.edu/pay and enter the code 3M270 to register your vehicle. Please park in an unmarked spot. The third floor is the most ideal, but any floor can be parked on. Cross the bridge that attaches from the third floor to the Art Courtyard.