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SURFACE TENSION
The Visible and the Hidden
AU Master of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition

April 6 – May 19, 2024

Artists:

  • Marie Gauthiez
  • Genie Ghim
  • Neal Gwaltney
  • Charles Jean-Pierre
  • Lindsay Mueller
  • Taylor Sizemore


On the Threshold — SURFACE TENSION:
Marcus Civin's exhibition essay with student interviews

Gauthiez, Wall1.

Marie B Gauthiez, Wall 1, 2023. Mixed media on wood panel and metal, 50 x 30 in. Credit: Pete Duvall.
 

Genie Ghim, Shapes of Passage I & II.

Genie Ghim, Shapes of Passage I & II, 2023. Acrylic on canvas, each 24 x 24 in. Credit: Genie Ghim.
 

Neal Gwaltney, Foundations.

Neal Gwaltney, Foundations, 2024. Oil & charcoal on canvas, 30 x 36 in. Credit: Neal Gwaltney.
 

Charles Philippe Jean-Pierre, Little on the Prairie

Charles Philippe Jean-Pierre, Little Boy on the Prairie | Chopping Wood, 2023. Enamel on plaster, 3 x 3 x 4 in. Credit: Charles Philippe Jean-Pierre.
 

Lindsay Mueller, Trunk.

Lindsay Mueller, Trunk, 2023. Oil & plaster on wood panel, 24 x 18 in. Credit: Lindsay Mueller.
 

Taylor Sizemore, Slutty Little Oranges, 2024.

Taylor Sizemore, Slutty Little Oranges, 2024. Oil on canvas, 40 x 30 in. Credit: Taylor Sizemore.
 

Sizemore, Familiar Patterns.

Taylor Sizemore, Familiar Patterns, 2023. Oil on canvas, 16 x 12 in. Credit: Taylor Sizemore.
 

Lindsay Mueller, A Dicey Eight Inch Commute.

Lindsay Mueller, A Dicey Eight Inch Commute, 2024. Oil & plaster on wood panel, 8.5 x 7 in. Credit: Lindsay Mueller.
 

Jean-Pierre, Kowboys.

Charles Philippe Jean-Pierre, Koboy (Cowboy), 2023. Powder coated found object, 24 x 36 x 36 in. Credit: Charles Philippe Jean-Pierre.
 

Charles Gwaltney, Foundations III.

Neal Gwaltney, Foundations  III, 2024. Oil & charcoal on canvas, 36 x 36 in. Credit: Neal Gwaltney.
 

Marie B Gauthiez, Practiced Mistrust.

Marie B Gauthiez, Practiced Mistrust, 2024. Mixed media on wood panel 22 x 22 in. Credit: Pete Duvall.

Overview

Six American University MFA candidates explore the oscillation between the surface and what lies beneath. Works in this exhibition bring forth the rich autobiographical soil that informs each of the artists’ practices and journeys. This exhibition interrogates the notion of surface as merely the endpoint of each artist's work, proposing instead that it serves as a dynamic threshold to multilayered narratives and inquiries. The artists challenge the viewer to look beyond the immediacy of the visual, prompting a deeper engagement with the underlying tensions that shape our personal and collective identities.

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