College of Santa Fe BFA Thesis Exhibition

"All Those Pretty Things"

Opening Reception Friday, April 30, 5 to 7 p.m
On display: April 30 through May 15, Wed.- Sat. 1–5 p.m.
College of Santa Fe Fine Arts Gallery 

The College of Santa Fe studio arts and photography departments' BFA thesis exhibition, All Those Pretty Things, opens Friday, April 30, with a reception from 5 to 7 p.m. at CSF's Fine Arts Gallery. Through installation, sculpture, and fine art and documentary photography, students reveal their engagement with the world and their passion for expressing that engagement by making art. 

Two documentarians immerse themselves in landscape—whether wild or urban—and report back to us through their photographs. In his series The Unforgotten Love, Jay Fishback (BA in Documentary Studies) portrays wild horses on BLM land and their trainer Alicia Nation. Tyler Scott Arp (BA in Documentary Studies) shares alarmingly beautiful images of graffiti in a presentation that bridges the gap between documentary and fine art. 

Lorraine Edge Castillo (BFA in Studio Arts) and Brittany Linkenheimer (BFA in Studio Arts) each create interactive environments that explore personal narratives. Edge Castillo's installation evinces a woman's transition through life and womanhood, expressing the struggle, tension and continuing hope that are central to that journey. Linkenheimer, in an installation that activates the senses and focuses the mind, makes the audience aware of learning differences through creation of large-scale "cycloids." 

Sculptor Samuel John Morrell (BFA in Studio Arts) exhibits figurative sculptures of welded steel—raw and dynamic works that energize the space. 

Emily Everhart (BFA in Photography) photographically explores the Los Ojos Saloon in Jemez Springs, N.M.; through observing the inanimate secrets and individual patrons she reveals the bar as a representation of the community. Cliff Shapiro (BFA in Photography) examines youth culture and fashion through the lens of body language. Shapiro's choice to use a large-format camera and black-and-white film reveals his respect for the tradition of photography. Matthew Morrow (BFA in Photography) photographs his friends over a period of time to create candid and intimate portraits as well as a personal diary of everyday life. Leigh Fagerstrom (BFA in Photography) shows portraits that depict a natural, youthful, human duality: the morning-no pretense, without armor, simplicity; the night-a whirlwind, fog, spirit. 

Bobby-David Mitchell (BFA in Photography) exhibits a stunning group of color photographs that address the beauty of the overlooked and the imperfect, as well as the fragility of an ever-changing world. In her images of closed doors, Donna Axler (BFA in Photography) attracts us with saturated color and texture, presenting a threshold while simultaneously barring our passage. Jared Pitts (BFA in Photography) reveals the inherent beauty found within the shape and form of simple objects. The scale and sensuous precision of his work arrest our vision. 

All Those Pretty Things: BFA Thesis Exhibition
Reception: Friday, April 30, 2010, 5–7 p.m.
On display April 30 through May 15, Wednesday through Saturday, 1–5 p.m.
College of Santa Fe Fine Arts Gallery
1600 St. Michael's Drive
Santa Fe, NM 87505 

For more information, please contact Linda Swanson, CSF art department chair, at 505-473-6526.