For immediate release:
The University of Rochester’s Department of Art and Art History is proud to present the 2022 Senior Thesis Exhibitions, in person. Seven graduating Studio Art majors will display their work in solo exhibitions both on and off campus between April 16 and May 7, 2022. Each of these dual-major artists brings interdisciplinary expertise and a wide variety of media to their studio practices.
Emma Bailie’s practice bridges her training as both painter and musician. Her work engages the musicality of painting and the texture of sound, experimenting with rhythm, space, and temporality through the use of circles and other motifs. Her recent interests include white noise and encaustic painting, exploring the commonalities between complementary visible and auditory colors. Dana Bulger’s prints and artist books draw from personal experience for storytelling. Their work exorcises the tension between internal and external identity, and meditates on growth and personhood through the use of layers to create composite imagery. Not shying away from the melancholic, Bulger’s work embraces tragedy as a natural aspect of being through the use of organic motifs such as moss, leaves, and mushrooms. Ruoyu Wang’s installations take for granted the impossibility of separating our online psyches from ours in the “real world.” The non-corporeal violence inflicted online, especially through cyber-bullying, has tangible consequences. Her art challenges the alienation inherent in the ostensible anonymity in online forums. Chengyue Zhao’s intimate familial relationships ground her sculpture and photography practice. Intergenerational knowledge transfer is juxtaposed against the disconnect inherent in long distance communication. Turning her gaze inward, Zhao also identifies the uncanny presence of time dilation in the reconstruction of memory. Gabrielle Meli’s paintings and textiles attest to the interconnection between arts and sciences, and reveal the fraught position of women in STEM spheres. She uses geological media to create her own pigments, and her work reflects the processes of creation on the artistic and geological scales. Like his photographed subjects, Freddie Gluck is inextricably tied to the natural world. Typically working with conservationists and others whose environmentalism is foundational to their work, his process includes in-depth interviews to construct narratives complementing his photos. Zichen Shen’s narrative videos dramatize events from his life. His trilogy is composed of three types of interpersonal relationships: the nuclear family, romantic love, and friendship. His work draws on popular film to illustrate the universality of his experience.
Emma Bailie: Dissonance
On view: April 16-29, 2022
Reception: April 16, 2022, 6pm-9pm
The Yards Collective
50-52 Rochester Public Market
Rochester, NY 14609
Dana Bulger: The Unexplained Killing of Your Eldest Daughter
Ruoyu (Roey) Wang: Who The Next
Chengyue (Sia) Zhao: Personal Belongings
On view: April 20-27, 2022
Reception: April 21, 2022, 7:30pm-9:30pm
ASIS Gallery, Sage Art Center
Rochester, NY 14611
Gabrielle Meli: Birefringence
On view: April 20-May 7, 2022
Reception: April 22, 5pm-7pm
Frontispace, Art and Music Library
755 Library Rd.
Rochester, NY 14627
Freddie Gluck: Land Folks
Zichen Shen: This Is My Cinema
On view: April 28-May 7, 2022
Reception: April 28, 5pm-7pm
Hartnett Gallery, Wilson Commons
Rochester, NY 14611
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