UTC Senior Thesis exhibit opens April 18

Liberty Smith's photograph in the UTC Senior BFA Thesis Exhibition.

Liberty Smith's photograph in the UTC Senior BFA Thesis Exhibition.

Seniors in the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's Art Department have spent four years preparing to receive their bachelor of fine arts degrees. Their first two years provided grounding in skills and experiences with materials and processes. They followed a mentored student-driven path as juniors and seniors.

Now it's time for show-and-tell before graduating.

After months of research into issues and challenges of the contemporary world, seniors will present an art exhibition of their discoveries in the Senior BFA Thesis Exhibition in UTC's Cress Gallery.

Held each spring as the capstone event of their final year, the exhibit features work by students in concentration areas of graphic design, painting, drawing, photography, media arts and sculpture.

To accommodate the number of seniors, two shows have been held this month. The first was April 4-13, featuring the work of Lawrence Chien, Anne Daniels, Amy Devan, Sarah Dolmovich, Chloe George, Emaleigh Grantz, Madeline Hankins, Alesha Lee, Kirby Miles, Nicole Reynolds, Caroline Romersa, Athene Ruiz, Kaylee Sheldon and Jenna Tomaszewski.

The second opens Tuesday, April 18, continuing through April 28. It will feature the work of Chris Anderson, Erika Brooks, Bonnie Buffington, Devin Caldwell, Ian Lawrence, John Le, Stephanie Loggans, Dana Ortega, Dylan Pew, Chris Pickering, Selena Sanchez, Buddy Simpson, Liberty Smith, Taylor Thompson, Hayden Todd and Rhiana Von Fosson.

Liberty Smith's submission is a photograph of a pick-up truck traveling a lonely highway backed by a mountainous horizon.

"I've been searching for connections the past few years," he says in his artist statement. "I fell in love with a girl who dealt with suicide in her family. My downstairs neighbor killed himself. I've struggled with depression. The question that keeps rattling around in my head is 'How can so many lonely people exist right beside each other?'"

Smith believes that digital society has taught people to present the "best version of ourselves to our peers and repress any struggles we face."

His intention is to combine banal material and modern technology to push back against that isolation. His work, like the present moment, cannot be repeated. In order for it to come to life and have breath, it is dependent on the interaction of the viewer, he says.

Dyan Pew has created an installation that focuses on the misconception that nature exists outside of human development and that natural and cultural spaces are mutually exclusive.

"My creative research is based around studying objects that are exiled from human society and realizing their functional possibilities through collection assemblage and display," he explains in his artist statement.

An opening reception will be held Tuesday, April 18, at 6 p.m. in the lobby of the UTC Fine Arts Center, preceded by artist talks at 5 o'clock in Cadek Hall auditorium.

Parking for opening night presentations is available after 4 p.m. in UTC Lots 10, 12 and 18.