Five Artists From UT’s BFA Program Exhibiting Works in “Humanature”

The University of Tampa is showcasing the work of five student artists graduating from the Bachelor of Fine Arts program at “Humanature — The 2016 BFA Exhibition” now through Dec. 17 at the Scarfone/Hartley Gallery. There will be a reception to honor the graduates on Friday, Dec. 16, from 7–9 p.m.

This group show features 91 works. Each body of work represents the culmination of four years of study and details the level of conceptual and technical expertise of the artists in ceramics, photography, printing, sculpture, digital art, oil painting, assemblage, pyrography and installation.

Differently from previous years, the artists were invited to share their visions in search of a common ground so that the resulting presentation could be curated as a group show dealing with a specific theme. What emerged was “Humanature,” which stimulates a reflection on the ways humanity and nature can be culturally integrated or separated.

Michelle Speaker’s photographic landscapes stem from a specific detail that functions as the generator of the entire image. Jill Crandall comments on the human body as a place where communication, meaning-making and decoding of complex information is shared and conveyed. Jamie Stubkjaer presents her time-based works, in which she pushes the medium of oil painting to maximize its expressive potential within an impossibly narrow timeframe. Kathleen Bell’s work investigates how personal experiences shape individuals, burning traces of their silent passage on the surface of the skin. Finally, Nina Rivera presents her world of domesticated wilderness, populated by tamed hybrid animals, which elicit our primordial desire to harmoniously relate with other forms of existence.

The gallery is located on campus at the R.K. Bailey Art Studios, 310 North Boulevard, and is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. There is no charge for admission.

For more information, contact Amanda Poss, interim gallery director, at aposs@ut.edu.