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MFA News

 WestConn's M.F.A. Program Receives Formal Accreditation! (February 2003)

 The Art Department at Western Connecticut State University is pleased to announce the formal accreditation of its Master of Fine Arts program, now in its third year.  Western CT houses the only M.F.A. program in the state system.  The M.F.A program offers concentrations in both painting and illustration, and all students participate in regular critiques, study and dialogue with a diverse faculty, and attend an exceptional guest speaker/critic series featuring internationally recognized artists.  M.F.A. students also have opportunities to do internships with professional artists, and in art institutions.

 The program was initiated, according to Margaret Grimes, M.F.A. Coordinator, “because it became obvious to us that Western Connecticut State University was located in an absolutely unique area, rich in the traditions of the Hudson River School and the Connecticut Impressionists, home of some of the most famous painters and illustrators in the country, and yet only an hour outside of New York City.  We realized that a residential program could give students exposure to our rich local cultural heritage, the beautiful surrounding landscape, and access to the art center of the world, for a very modest state university tuition.”

 From the inception, M.F.A. Program's advisory board included:

• Ruth Miller Forge, artist and art educator
• Darby Cardonsky, partner in Bachelier/Cardonsky Gallery of Kent, Connecticut and former assistant to Lee Krasner (wife of Jackson Pollock)
• Leonard Everett Fisher, former Dean of Paier School of Art, highly recognized illustrator and painter
•  Hugh O’Donnell, well-known painter, frequent exhibitor at Marlborough Gallery and former Director of the Boston University School of Art;
• Michael Whelan, famous illustrator for authors and artists like Stephen King, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Anne McCaffrey, Michael Jackson, Sepultura and MeatLoaf.
• Constance Evans, former executive director of the prestigious Skowhegan School of Art, Painting and Sculpture, currently executive director of the Weir Farm Trust

 The M.F.A. Program's Guest Artist Speaker Program:

A central component of the M.F.A. is a highly active guest artist speaker program.  The visiting artists give autobiographical slide lectures approximately every two weeks in the basement of White Hall, events which are open to the public.  Visiting painters who have spoken have work in the collections of the Guggenheim, Metropolitan, Whitney, MOMA, Corcoran, Tate and many other national and international museums and are represented by the best galleries in New York.

 Lecturing painters include: John Arthur, Hugh O’Donnell, Marjorie Portnow, Lois Dodd, Andrew Forge, Susanna Coffey, Nancy Hagin, Audrey Flack, Susan Shatter, Bruce Dorfman, Vincent Desiderio, Janet Fish and James McGarrell. Upcoming speakers include Yvonne Jacquette, William Bailey and Stanley Lewis.

 The guest illustrators, many of who are also in museum collections, have been published internationally by every major book and magazine have worked for major corporate clients and Hollywood studios, and have widely exhibited their work.  They include Paul Calle, Bob Crofut, Leonard Everett Fisher, Charlie Gehm, Roger Kastel, Tom Kidd, Pat Lindgren, Adam Niklewicz, Robert Andrew Parker, Lynn Sweat, Michael Whelan and Judy York.

 Facts: First M.F.A. Class at Western

• 8 painters and 2 illustrators
• students entered the program in Fall 2000
• included students who previously studied at Kent State, the Art Institute of Chicago, Syracuse University, the Art Students League of New York, Bard College, the Connecticut State System, and Charter Oak.

 Facts: 1st year Post-Graduating Accomplishments of 1st M.F.A. Class:

• collectively they have had 8 one-person shows
• participated in 8 juried shows( including a museum show)
• were awarded 5 grants and fellowships (including one at the prestigious National Academy of Design in New York)
• have taught and led workshops at universities, art schools and other art organizations

M.F.A. Collaboration with Jane Goodall Institute

• University’s partnership with the Jane Goodall Institute creates opportunity for landscape painters to place their work in the context of environmentalism. 
• M.F.A. exhibition honoring Dr. Goodall’s Centennial Lecture at the University is currently on display in Warner Hall on the midtown campus thru March 21^st.

 M.F.A. Collaboration with Weir Farm Trust

A great support to the M.F.A. program from the outset has been our relationship with the Weir Farm Trust. The Weir Farm National Historic Site, located on the home and studio of the noted Connecticut impressionist, J. Alden Weir, is the only National Park Site in Connecticut and the only one in the country devoted to American painting.  The Weir Farm Trust works in partnership with the National Park Service to provide outstanding programs for the public and to help preserve the Farm’s unique environment.  There is a natural connection between Western’s M.F.A. program and the distinctive opportunities for artists at Weir Farm that nurture the creative spirit and encourage exploration of the Farm’s historic landscape and cultural resources.  With similar goals for artists and the University’s close proximity, it is an exciting collaboration for both programs.

 The Weir Farm Trust has sponsored 3 distinguished lectures annually for the program, and has provided the students with opportunities to paint on a site that connects them with the extraordinary artistic heritage of the region.  The series of lectures for this year include Thomas Lanigan-Schmidt on March 18^th, Yvonne Jacquette on April 15^th, and William Bailey on April 22^nd.

 M.F.A. Collaboration with Hunt Hill Farm

A more recent association is with Ruth and Skitch Henderson’s Hunt Hill Farm, site of the Silo Gallery.  This historic farm has provided a location for the graduates to paint landscapes, and an active exhibition program featuring Art Department faculty and M.F.A. students which received considerable media attention.  An exhibition featuring M.F.A. faculty and student paintings done on sites at the University, Weir Farm Historic site and Hunt Hill Farm will open at the Silo Gallery in New Milford on April 12^th and run thru Saturday, May 10^th, 2003.

MFA Update
Denise Adams MFA '02, whose thesis works at Western were luminous cloud paintings, was featured this past fall in a solo exhibition entitled "Of Sky and Land" at the Reynolds Gallery in California.  Ms. Adams, whose works function well both as representational and abstract works, due to their high design consciousness, divides her time now between her California and Connecticut studios. 

Juan Moreno MFA '02 was featured in a solo exhibition at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, CT, in September 2002.  The artist's abstract paintings tickle the eye with sumptuous, velvety hues and have diverse forms which echo chaotic patterns of the natural world.  Randomly dotted paintings with black backgrounds resemble a star-filled night sky; other works have larger brushstrokes which fracture like splintering wood.  Mr. Moreno also participated in two juried group exhibitions: The Mr. Clinton Wilson Exhibition, juried by the instructors at the Art Students League of New York, New York, and also in The Connecticut Vision exhibition at the Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury, CT.   Additionally, Mr. Moreno served as curatorial intern at The Art Students League, from April to June 2002, working on the exhibition A Century of Prints by Art Student League Artists, 1901-2001.

 Ival Kovner MFA '02, whose work at Westconn featured gestural, aggressively painted plant forms, has also been exceptionally industrious.  Ms. Kovner participated in the Eco-Feminist Conference in October 2002 and also exhibited in the Chelsea Blue Mountain Gallery's Small Works invitational exhibition over the summer.  Ms. Kovner additionally participated in Yoko Ono's Flux Project which was exhibited at the Walker Art Center, in Minneapolis, MN.  In addition, she received the Tony Platt Fellowship from the Boston Society of Architects for the BuildBoston and 3^rd Annual Women in Design Conference held at the World Trade Center, Boston.  Ms. Kovner’s fellowship allowed her to attend a three-day series of workshops, exhibitions, luncheons and a daylong charrette.  The Society of Architects wanted to include artists whose work includes public installations and assemblages as well as those who employ graphic components in a variety of public settings.