else|where|else | MFA Thesis Exhibition

else|where|else is a collective statement by the cohort reflecting and reacting to the world using their unique and personal backgrounds to display how they see the future of art, individual experiences, and community unfolding. The cohort presents works that individually showcase their past histories to ponder the current contemporary landscape using humanity’s past heritage as their compass.

Together these artists have created atmospheres and worlds unto themselves featuring paintings that stretch the whole wall, prints that span from ceiling to floor, and installations that break the boundaries of the given space. Bond creates community by instigating audiences to interact with their multiple full scale works with whimsical and childlike propensity. Fryer utilizes light, space, and materials historically tied to the American South to bear witness to her connection to Christianity. Tran carves Vietnamese motifs into descriptive landscapes of the American Midwest into wood to create large, immersive black and white prints. Youngwood’s paintings tip the scale of fantasy and depth to map spaces in ways that defy legibility.

An accompanying catalogue for else|where|else is currently in production and will be co-published by the Department of Art and the Department of Art History at the University of Minnesota. The catalog features the exhibition artists with essay contributions from Department of Art History graduate students Yi-Lin Cheng, Amy Meehleder, and Ranjeet Singh. else|where|else is made possible by generous support from the Harlan Boss Foundation for the Arts and the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota.