Department of Art and Art History Abstracts

Presenter(s): Rachel Whitney, Roarinbrook Smith, Deena E Houissa

Showcase Advisor: Daniel Goodwin

Abstract: The 2026 Master of Arts Thesis Exhibition features work produced by candidates for the University at Albany Department of Art and Art History’s one-year, 30 credit-hour program of intensive training and study in traditional and contemporary fine art practices.

"Buried in Translation," brings together the work of Deena E. Houissa, Roarinbrook Smith, and Rachel Whitney, three artists whose practices move across written language, character-based imagery, video, found objects, and En plein air landscape painting. Though each artist works through distinct mediums and perspectives, their practices intersect through a shared exploration of how meaning changes as it moves through time, context, and interpretation. 

Throughout the exhibition, translation becomes both process and metaphor. Messages are altered, fragments are lost, and new meanings emerge as ideas move between mediums and lived experience. Together, these works invite viewers to reflect on how communication evolves and what becomes buried within the act of translation.

Presenter(s): Tiffany Salazar

Showcase Advisor: Kyle Coniglio

Abstract: This body of work explores emotional and psychological states through figurative abstraction, drawing from my family and myself as subjects. This process allows me to engage in self-reflection that examines themes of identity, self-acceptance and lived experiences. My paintings begin with photographs that I digitally edit and collage into a new composition. Using these images as a direct one-to-one reference, the translation from digital image to paint allows for a unique representation. Working on a large scale, my oil paintings engage with transparency and distorted fragmentation, creating busy and colorful compositions. My work merges descriptive rendering and stylistic representation using color, shape, and/or line to achieve a balance between the two. This collection reflects my artistic growth both conceptually and visually within the realm of abstraction.

Presenter(s): Hannah Pope

Showcase Advisor: Tara Holmes

Abstract: This is a photograph documentary series of the Whistling Kettle in Troy. The goal is to showcase the relationships between coworkers in the workplace. The bonds made between people that likely would not have met otherwise. The behind the scenes, friendships, routines, and systems of the workplace. A way to show the romanticized and wholesome side of the necessity to work.

Presenter(s): Savannah Tenace, Ian Cardinale-Thayer, Skyler Roach

Showcase Advisor: Karley Sullivan

Abstract: Join us for the ART310 exhibition, Experiments in Visual Thinking, in the Boor Sculpture Building. The artworks shown delve into the concept of "Persona" to view public identity and societal roles through an experimental lens. Emphasizing performance, participation, and process, these works highlight engagement with others as a vital element of artistic expression.

Presenter(s): Faith Adamczyk, Kendall Drost, Arden Farmsworth-Moore, Walter Quizhpe, Cassie Sappington, Brayden Surprise, Ashton Talma, Gabby Flouton, Aidan Hanrahan, Nameer Javed, Nico Moro, Ariona Padilla, April Weinman

Showcase Advisor: Jeanna Mead

Abstract: Students from the classes Sculpture Fundamentals and Sculpture Experiments learned the process of lost wax casting and how to operate a foundry. Their completed aluminum and bronze sculptures will by on view in the Boor Sculpture Studio.

Presenter(s): Sarah Beery

Showcase Advisor: Kyle Coniglio

Abstract: This showcase is a collection of works produced throughout my time studying art here at UAlbany. I have always been one to draw and paint from reference and translate my subject as closely as I can to what I see, a skill which I have honed over the course of my studies. When I began oil painting, it opened a door to realism that I can never close. After years of hard work (and obsession), I am honored to put forth several pieces of my best work. I urge viewers to get close to my paintings and pay attention to details- this way, you might see what I see.

Presenter(s): Megan Belanger, amadeus quinones, Anayia Fernandez, Lyndsey Heyliger, Janell Espada, Katelynn Quindara, Zhiva Lungulov

Showcase Advisor: Kyle Coniglio

Abstract: This is a collection of works exploring the potential of landscaping. The works were made this semester in Prof. Coniglio's Painting Experiments/Painting workshop class. Starting with the Hudson River school via master copies, we then move on to investigate how landscape lends itself towards the materiality of paint and poetic possibilities. Some of the work uses artificial intelligence as reference image material.

Presenter(s): Aliyah Melendez, Binbin Shi, Bonnie Kane, Ira Marcks, Joel Olzak, Kaitlyn Dembowski

Showcase Advisor: Daniel Goodwin

Abstract: The 2026 Master of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition features work produced by candidates for the University at Albany Department of Art and Art History’s two-year, 60 credit-hour terminal degree program of intensive training and study in traditional and contemporary fine art practices.

Presenter(s): Jessica Donley

Showcase Advisor: Simeon Youngmann

Abstract: This project is a series of imaginary landscapes building an industrial, sci-fi world. These drawings are completed in gouache, ink, charcoal, graphite, and use these mixed materials to develop gritty and complex spaces. My research and inspiration for this project comes from the work of Stanley Kubrick, H. R. Gieger and the Alien franchise, M. C. Escher, and concept art for video games like Disco Elysium. My goal is to develop immersive environments which offer the viewer a glimpse into a dystopian future.

Presenter(s): Abigail Meyer, Liam Durkin, Tiffany Salazar, Fizzah Soloman, Gerald Stalker, Savannah Tenace, Loosana Massillon, Taj Chavis

Showcase Advisor: Jeanna Mead

Abstract: Students are presenting sculptural work they've completed throughout the semester. Pieces include installation, video, performance, and animation. The work will be presented in and around the Boor Sculpture Studio.

Presenter(s): Jessica Shekhtman

Showcase Advisor: Simeon Youngmann

Abstract: This series of charcoal drawings and oil paintings explores isolated figures in enigmatic environments, blending elements of impressionism and magical realism with traditional drawing and painting processes. Taking inspiration from artists like Georges Seurat, Johannes Vermeer, Mary Cassatt, Amaya Gurpide, and Kathe Kollwitz, I combine soft light and textural surfaces to create scenes embedded with both transparency and tactile mark-making. These artworks invite you to peer into an interior world that is rendered in high detail, but which remains elusive, representing moments of contemplation suspended between private spaces and the world beyond.

Presenter(s): Lily Morris

Showcase Advisor: Daniel Goodwin

Abstract: Delicate threads, twisted together, become load-bearing. This is one of the oldest known forms of human technical knowledge. This revelation of rope begins an operatic journey through our obsession with tools as extensions of bodily power. Forms of twisting and entanglement speak to human striving in the world: cables, chains, ropes, and roads. But these same forms are equally biological — the branching of a nervous system, of vein and artery. I feel this entanglement embodied within me: my hair, my tension with time, my mortality. This series acts as spiritual artifacts: painted incantations  collaborating with the protective energy of a hive, the transformational power of snakeskin, and the oldest pigments known to man. I see the same compulsive braiding that drove the first rope-makers coursing through fiber optic cables. The collective body laboring through time, reaching beyond the terrestrial for something just past the horizon.

Presenter(s): Leah Duke

Showcase Advisor: Kelsey Renko

Abstract: Spiral explores the tension between outward composure and internal instability through symbolic form and layered charcoal techniques. Created as part of a project investigating the relationship between figuration and abstraction, the drawing centers on a human figure that spirals inward while fragmented lines interrupt the motion. These disruptions reflect moments when control falters, and individuals feel disoriented or emotionally overwhelmed. Embedded throughout the spiral are watchful eyes that return the viewer’s gaze, suggesting the persistent social pressure to appear composed even when one’s inner world feels chaotic. The piece invites viewers to recognize this shared human experience and pause with the emotions it evokes. Using vine, compressed, and white charcoal, the work was built through layering, erasing, and reworking marks, allowing tonal contrasts and textures to reinforce the tension between order and disorder while exploring vulnerability through expressive mark-making.

Presenter(s): Kevin Mosca, Alejandro Carranza, Lois Ann Luce Kempney, Paul Cwikla, Piper Grokulsky, Tessa Nagel, Hannah Davis, Ziyi Wang

Showcase Advisor: Grace Lawrence

Abstract: This exhibition brings together 7, 1st year Master of Fine Arts graduate students presented within the Boor Sculpture Studio's APR exhibition space. Spanning across drawing, painting, sculpture, and video each artist presents their choice of medium(s) in conversation with their peer's. Grouped together, the work presented creates new dialogs, and conversations for the viewer.

Presenter(s): Liam Durkin, Niah Brown-Santoni

Showcase Advisor: Jennifer Horn

Moderator: Ibraheem Saafir

Abstract: Our presentation features a collection of concept art, panels, and pages produced by members of East Park Comics©, while working on our very first title; "Yasuke: The Sword of Seven Virtues ". This event enables us to display our talents, showcase our artwork and to introduce East Park Comics© as an independent publisher of graphic novels and comic books, the stories we tell, with the goal of expanding our footprint and growing our team!

Presenter(s): Paige Dougher

Showcase Advisor: Amy Bloch

Abstract: My research will explore the use of wood as a material in art and architecture from the medieval era to the contemporary period. Wood is an inexpensive material compared with others used by artists, making it an accessible medium, yet it is easily carved into expressive forms. I will focus on Western art, though I will also survey elements of early craftsmanship from around the world. My research will begin with early instances of wood used to make fine art objects, and I will explore the symbolic, cultural, and environmental meanings of its use. I will survey the refined and exacting use of wood in intarsia, architecture, and sculpture, then investigate the organic ‘freeform’ use of wood in its natural state in contemporary art. My plan, finally, is to examine how wood in fine art creates a sustained dialogue between the material and viewer through expressive symbolism and ecological naturalism.

Presenter(s): Jaimz Edwards

Showcase Advisor: Amy Bloch

Abstract: My focus for this project is the materiality of Gothic ca. 1200-1400 architecture. My focus will be primarily the use of stained-glass windows, their processes of construction, and their relationship with light. I will discuss the philosophical and secular perspectives of how light is an imperative factor in Gothic architecture. Light was crucial to the effect and experience of Gothic architecture and set the atmosphere of Gothic spaces. I also consider other elements such as the use of stone, and wood in the architectural structures that will also be discussed when necessary. I focus on architectural materials because of the importance of materials used to build and adorn structures during this era. Writers often explore the meaning of the substances used to construct buildings and design choices behind Gothic architecture and can be fully understood only when considering the materials used.

Presenter(s): Wilhemina Weidman

Showcase Advisor: Amy Bloch

Abstract: This poster explores gemstones in medieval and Renaissance Europe through their material and symbolic lives. Gemstones come in many forms, cut or carved, and representational like in painting and sculpture. This reflects their profound and powerful influence on interaction. Examining the cultural impacts of gemstones allows for a more holistic understanding of customs, heritage and values during the medieval and Renaissance eras. This includes how the understanding and interpretation of gemstones affected the performance of identity. Gemstones informed practice and behavior in everyday life that shaped cultural identity and connection that continue to endure. Representation and objects made with gemstones indicates artistry and demonstrates their significance. Gemstones functioned as sites where spiritual value, economic exchange, and artistic experimentation converged, revealing how materials shaped both aesthetic practice and cultural imagination in the medieval and Renaissance world.

Presenter(s): Catherine Pooler

Showcase Advisor: Amy Bloch

Abstract: In this research project, I will explore stained glass and the function it served in churches during the late medieval and Renaissance periods. The focus will be on a few sets of windows from both northern Europe and Italy, and I will compare the windows to display the differences in style despite using the same production techniques.  I will discuss the role of light in illuminating stained-glass windows and suggest that a consideration of light plays an essential role in any understanding and interpretation of the windows’ subject matter. With the presence of light, the medium of stained glass expands itself from its frame and allows it to be cast onto surfaces surrounding the window – within and outside the church.

Presenter(s): Jayleen Acevedo

Showcase Advisor: Amy Bloch

Abstract: Renaissance artists carefully selected the materials used in their artworks, whether in sculpture or painting, not only for their physical qualities but also for their symbolic meaning. This paper examines the significance of gold leaf use in Italian Renaissance art and its impact on the viewer's experience and the artist's intention. Instead of just being used as decoration, gold was valued for the thinness of its leaf and its luminosity and was used in religious and divine settings because of the effect it gave to the painting's atmosphere. Examining gold provides a deeper understanding of its impact and the significant role it played in Renaissance culture, politics, and social dynamics.

Presenter(s): Emily Canevari

Showcase Advisor: Amy Bloch

Abstract: In this project, I will research the symbolic and material meanings of coral in the Madonna di Senigallia by Piero della Francesca. In this painting, the infant Jesus wears an amulet made of coral, a substance that held many significant meanings during the Renaissance. During this time, coral was believed to guard children from danger and protect from illnesses. By placing this coral necklace around Jesus's neck, Piero creates a connection from cultural practices of the time to Christian symbolism. Jesus possesses the vulnerability that comes along with infancy, and the coral can be understood to protect him; but, given the organic origin of coral from the sea and its blood red coloring, coral, also refers to the sacrifice of Jesus and the future Passion. I argue that coral is not merely decorative within this painting but is a material that carried religious meaning during the time of the Renaissance.

Presenter(s): Meagan Leung

Showcase Advisor: Amy Bloch

Abstract: The microbial analysis of artistic materials has become an essential tool in art historical research and conservation. Focusing on early modern European oil paintings, such as works by Jan van Eyck and Rembrandt van Rijn, scientists have identified bacterial and fungal communities that contribute to the degradation of pigments, binding media, and varnishes over time. Exploring the microbiology of paintings provides historians with key insights into how artwork ages biologically due to contamination, material choice, and specific workshop practices.

However, what is often overlooked is how such interdisciplinary analyses complicate the traditional perception of art as a stagnant object by demonstrating that paintings are in fact alive. By integrating microbiological analysis with art historical interpretation, one can utilize a painting's microbiological profile to derive symbolic meaning and underscore a painting's dynamic, and living, material environment.

Presenter(s): AJ Robert

Showcase Advisor: Amy Bloch

Abstract: This project examines the work of Zdzisław Beksiński, a Polish artist and WWII survivor, arguing that his material choices are essential to interpreting his dystopian narratives. Known as the "Nightmare Artist," Beksiński rendered his dreams on wood panels, with his use of a specific blue pigment holding particular significance. He was aware that this pigment's chemical composition was related to the Zyklon B gas used by the Nazis. This research explores how his technical mastery and use of materials articulate historical trauma. Since Beksiński did not title his works, analysis focuses on specific untitled pieces, identified by year and dimensions, to demonstrate that the vehicle of paint itself is central to understanding his vision.

Presenter(s): Liam Durkin

Showcase Advisor: Amy Bloch

Abstract: My paper will explore several reliquaries made during the later parts of the Middle Ages as well as the Renaissance, in particular the Reliquary of the Skull of Mary Magdalene, located in the Basilica of Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baum. Reliquaries were containers that held and displayed relics – the corporal remains of saints or other objects associated with them – and were typically made with silver and gold and lavishly ornamented with gemstones, enamels, and other valuable materials. Of course, the saints whose relics were enclosed within these containers were usually historical figures who lived long before the later parts of the Middle Ages as well as the Renaissance, when the reliquaries in question were produced. My research into these reliquaries will focus on the materials used to make them, what made them significant, and how they affected the narrative of the relics and the people's perception of them.

Presenter(s): Erika Holleron

Showcase Advisor: Amy Bloch

Abstract: This paper addresses the history of dyed fabrics from the early Medieval period through the Renaissance.  I will cite specific works of art and discuss the properties and portrayal of fabrics and their narrative significance.  I will discuss the establishment of the guild system and the Worshipful Company of Dyers (Britain, c. 1471-), the L'Arte di Tintori (Venice, c. 1378-1720), and the Arte dei Mercatanti di Calimala  (Florence, c. 1182-1770), exploring their economic, social, and cultural impact.  I will explore how the guilds appropriated and limited the agency of women dyers, weavers, and artisans who had traditionally crafted and dyed textiles that laid the foundation for the prosperous wool and textile trade that shaped art and culture in Europe.