Bulletin News

Three SUNY Cortland seniors who aspire to careers as artists will exhibit their work during late April at Dowd Gallery on campus. A fourth student will do so during late April and early May in the Beard Gallery at Main Street SUNY Cortland, 9 Main St.

The three members of the College’s Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) program, Ji Eun Kim, Kyle O’Brien and Kathryn Thiel, will display their thesis exhibitions from Monday, April 25, to Friday, April 29, at the Dowd Gallery. The fourth BFA major, Brian Roach, will exhibit his work  from Friday, April 29, to Friday, May 13, at Beard Gallery.

Admission to both galleries is free and all exhibits are open to the public. The Dowd Gallery operates Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Beard Gallery operates Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

An opening reception for the Dowd Gallery exhibition is set for 4:45 p.m. Tuesday, April 26.

BFA student Brian Roach will display his thesis project work, titled “A Transgressive Look at Beauty,” during the exhibition.

An opening reception for Roach’s thesis project, “A Transgressive Look at Beauty,” will take place from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, April 29, at the Beard Gallery. Roach will lecture on his artwork at 6 p.m.

Kim’s thesis project, titled “Urban Drift,” ties together her visual research of the relationship between nature and culture in the contemporary city. She took rapid walks through the city of Cortland to shape her artwork and lists the urban practices of the Situationists and the oneness of Zen philosophy as her influences.

O’Brien, a runner who was originally a physical education major, offers “Float” as his thesis exhibition. His paintings are large-scale abstract landscapes that represent his running experiences along the rural roads of Cortland.

“When I am out running, I am constantly taking in and observing my surroundings,” said O’Brien, an All-America athlete in cross country and track. “Often my body feels disassociated with the ground, as if I am floating above the terrain.”

O’Brien’s paintings have been displayed at the local and state levels, including the Best of SUNY Art Student Exhibition Series and the Student Select Show in the Dowd Gallery.

Thiel submitted “Magenta” as her thesis project. It is a series of portraits that depict mental and emotional states of an individual subject.

“This fuels questions about identity, internal conflict and vulnerability,” said Thiel, who used vibrant colors and short brush strokes in her artwork.

Between 2008-10, Thiel’s work appeared at the Student Select Show in the Dowd Gallery, in addition to the “You Are What You Eat,” “Moist” and “Here We Go” exhibits at the Beard Gallery.

Roach’s thesis project explores the inherent beauty of destruction through layering and image reconstruction.

A former SUNY Artist of the Week, Roach’s work has been featured on the Lost at E Minor and Trend Hunter websites.

For more information, contact Bryan Thomas, Dowd Gallery interim director, at (607) 753-4311.