2026 BFA Exhibitions
Congratulations Jacob Van Langeveld, Kat McCormick, and Maddy Gaffney!
Dowd Gallery’s 2026 closing exhibition is brought to you by Jack Van Langeveld, Kat McCormick, and Maddy Gaffney. SUNY Cortland Art and Art History department is proud to present this graduating class that exemplifies excellence in craft, conception, and dedication to the visual arts.
Absorbing and documenting the things around him are at the heart of Jake Van Langeveld’s thesis exhibition. Heavy Machinery and overlooked buildings are the focus of this investigation, with works produced both in the studio and in the field. Like journal entries, these are the subjects that have entered into his vision and have been recorded in paint.
Maddy Gaffney’s “Transfigure” invites you to spot figures where they would not normally exist— in landscapes, in the skies, and as embodiments of fate. Through large-scale oil paintings, Gaffney explores cycles and natural phenomena by weaving myth, nature, and transformation into imagery that reveals time as a living, shifting force.
Kat McCormick, a Bachelor of Fine Arts student with a specialization in painting,presents Purgatory, a thesis exhibition including large-scale paintings and sculptures. This collection of figurative work investigates the effects of long-term mental illness and recurring treatment on perspective and motivation. Shown in the east wing of Dowd Gallery, each piece is made in limited color with an emphasis on deep blue-green hues, a representation of feeling stuck between cycles of healing and devolving. Inspired by expressionist art, these self-portraits serve as a personal documentation of the thoughts and feelings that stem from attempting to overcome maladies that always seem to reemerge.
Exhibition Dates: April 24 - May 15, 2026
Opening Reception: April 24, 5pm, Main Gallery, DFA BLDG., Rm 106
All Dowd Gallery events and programs are free and open to the public.
M-F 10:00 am - 5:30 pm
