by Jeanne Harmeyer, College of Creative Arts

The 2017 MFA graduate candidates of the Department of Art were invited to present graduating thesis work at a special exhibition at the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati. The exhibit runs March 24 through April 9 with the opening event from 6–10 p.m. March 24 at the CAC. 

Graduate program co-director Dana Saulnier said, “We are thrilled that the works of this very deserving group of young artists will be exhibited at one of the most prestigious art venues in the Midwest.”

This is the first year for this exhibition to include Miami’s MFA candidates along with candidates from the graduate program in studio art at the University of Cincinnati who have been invited to present over the past three years. The exhibition, ‘Figures, Forms, and Stories,’ consists of selected thesis works by Miami graduate candidates whose working practices, themes, and mediums range widely. 

Featured Miami artists include:

• Gabrielle Roach – Gabi's work investigates the universality of constructing comprehensive narratives, their pervasiveness in our lives and their impact on determining how we encounter and interpret the world. She was born in St. Louis, MO and raised in Terre Haute, Indiana where she received her BFA in Painting at Indiana State University. She currently lives in Oxford and will receive her MFA from Miami this spring.
• Sam Dorgan – The search and shimmy for meaning and identity is intriguing to Sam. Her projections and sculptures presented are an obsessive hodgepodge of poetics, disjunctive semiotics, media digestion, and personal experience. Sam is an interdisciplinary artist who holds a BBA from Belmont University, and a BFA from the University of Cincinnati. 
• Sarah Rodriguez – Sarah’s work is an assemblage of modules constructed through memory and experience. Sarah graduated from Wright State University in 2014 with a BFA in painting. She is set to graduate from the MFA program in August.
• Billy Simms – Billy's work lies at the intersection of visual art, literature, and theatre. He has a BA in theatrical scenic and lighting design from the University of Maryland Baltimore County and a MS degree in Special Education from The Johns Hopkins University. He lives in Hamilton, OH with his wife and four cats. 
• Olumuyiwa Oyedare – Olumuyiwa's work is a metaphorical narrative; it typifies the exploited and explores positive possibilities. Olumuyiwa was born in Ibadan, Nigeria. In addition to a B.A. degree in sculpture, he holds Masters Degrees in Visual Arts and Sculpture from universities in Nigeria.
• Megan Alyce Taylor – Megan's work discusses her conception of identity by examining both the beauty and tragedy of human experience. She grew up in Valparaiso, IN. Prior to receiving her BFA from Herron School of Art and Design, she studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago as well as Savannah College of Art and Design. Currently, she is pursuing her MFA at Miami and resides with her daughter in Oxford, OH.