mfa painting thesis

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Art MFA Thesis

MFA students are required to develop both a visual and a written thesis throughout their second year of study. They participate in the MFA + MDes annual thesis exhibition at the Henry Art Gallery . Some of the MFA programs require an additional show at the end of the 2nd year. The written thesis, 1500 words or greater, must be submitted to the Graduate School using their procedures and guidelines.

• Thesis/Dissertation Graduate School web page.
• Final Submission of Your Electronic Thesis or Dissertation (ETD)

Thesis Committee

During the autumn quarter of their second year, each student is responsible for organizing a thesis committee. The committee must consist of at least two faculty members from their program, one of whom is the committee chair. Students may choose additional committee members in consultation with the chair of their committee. Students work closely with their chair and committee throughout the final three quarters of their project.

You can browse theses submitted by recent graduate students from our MFA programs through the University of Washington Research Works Archive .

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MFA Thesis: Finding a Balance

Writing an mfa thesis, thesis outlines, mind mapping.

• Group 4 Research Tips

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Writing an MFA thesis is a delicate balance between maintaining focus on your process and your art, while also using research and citations to put your art into a larger context with evidence as support for your claims.

Think of two extremes.   People write completely narrative theses, like this one . Other people write long, well-researched art history theses, like this one .  In the Lesley program you're aiming for somewhere in the middle, but you all might vary in how close they are to one or the other.

• HOW TO WRITE YOUR MFA THESIS IN FINE ART (AND BEYOND) A professor's tips and suggested exercises to help with writing

If you aren't sure how you want to organize your thesis, try mind mapping your ideas to find connections (scroll down for videos!) or read other MFA theses to see how other people organize a thesis.

Abstract vs. Practical

Notice how all the examples below compare in their organization (check out their table of contents!), even when dealing with a similar topic or medium!

• Example: Practical Organization This MFA thesis, written by Robert Bradley at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, is organized practically, with a section for each medium, a section on process, and a section on influences.
• Example: Abstract Organization This MFA thesis, written by Jin Lee at Illinois State University, is broken up by abstract headings. Instead of practical headings like "Materials" "Process" "Influences" the artist uses abstract ideas as her organization, like "Beginnings" and "Being Seen".

Notice how the two theses below both center around art and trauma, but how they organize their thesis is different. 

• Ceramics MFA Thesis, written by Alex Bailey at Southern Illinois University This one has a more practical organization. It is organized based on the artist's life and the chronology of healing, with sections called "One: Lived Experience", "Two: Trauma, Damage", "Three: Mending, Coping", "Four: Restoration".
• Visual Arts MFA Thesis, written by Angel Estrella at Clemson University This thesis has a more abstract organization, with sections called 'Seeing Feeling", "The Body Remembers", and "Inside-Out". The more practical information, like clay recipes, is includes as an appendix.

Process-Based Art

If your art is very focused on your process, you may want to find a way to put more focus on that in your thesis. You can have a section of your thesis about your process but for some people their work is very process-based so they speak to process throughout the thesis.

• Digital Production Arts MFA Thesis, written by Thomas Scott Rapp at Clemson University This thesis has a very practical organization, but it's focused on the preparation and process of creating. There is a section for background, one for influences, and one for production, and the results aren't discussed until the end. This puts the focus on the process and technique while still designating space to discuss the final product.
• The Pain that Love Produced Moton, Barrymore A. Illinois State University Check out the section "MEANING OF MATERIALS & RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FORM AND PROCESS"
• My Culture Art in Healing Action Chavarria, Fabian. The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Process is discussed thoroughly in specific sections like: PROCESS AND MEDIA, MIX MEDIA, SCULPTURE, & INK ON CANVAS
• Curating Memories; Art as a Collection of Loss and Nostalgia Feagin, Christle Dawn. Azusa Pacific University There are intrinsic relationships between artists, their collections, viewers, cultures, and nostalgic memories resulting from loss. This thesis probes these deep-rooted connections by examining how early traumatic experiences inform not only the objects an artist collects and uses in their art, but also how viewers and culture perceive these creations.

Mind mapping is a great way to organize your thoughts visually.  There are digital tools you can use ( check out this list of 5 ) but it's usually more effective to create one on paper by hand.  They can be used for:

Studying:   Map a textbook chapter or lecture notes to better understand, remember, and make connections

Writing Papers : Map out your thoughts to generate a topic or thesis question, outline your supporting research, and find connections to help you with transitions

Presentations : Present information visually, so that the audience can see how your ideas are organized and connected

See mind mapping in action:

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Home > Painting > Painting Masters Theses

Painting Masters Theses

The MFA program in Painting emphasizes critical and artistic growth through the evolution of a rigorous studio practice. While a shared passion for the history and craft of painting binds the department together, professors are committed to assisting each student in developing his or her own vision, supporting an enormous diversity of formal and conceptual approaches, painting styles and interests.

In the final semester, degree candidates focus on creating a comprehensive body of work under the guidance of a thesis committee. All MFA candidates produce a written thesis and participate in the RISD Graduate Thesis Exhibition , a large-scale public show held annually.

Graduate Program Director: Kevin Zucker

These works are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License .

Theses from 2024 2024

Sweet Relief , Aaron Feltman

An Abundance of Caution , Gonçalo Preto Jorge

A Delicate Balance , Lily Taylor

Theses from 2023 2023

Flores , Rigoberto Flores

margins (i nvr needed acceptance from all u outsiders) , Jahi Lendor

cuando lloro , Melissa Medina

From John Street to Union , Andrew Shea

A body finding freedom within itself , Malda Smadi

Cultivar , Scott Vander Veen

Theses from 2022 2022

Matingkad - Flamboyant , Bhen Alan

New revelations , Ineke Lynne Knudsen

Time enough at last , Scott Lerner

Baseball camp and other stories , Lucas Mockler

TOBETITLED , Dylan Riley

Pace/Place/Space/Tempo—The choreography of equity and expressions of Black Living , Vessna Scheff

Uncaring universe , Jingqi Wang Steinhiser

Can’t stop coyote , Tala Worrell

Paradigms of horror , Xingge Zhang

Theses from 2021 2021

Records of (un)learning , Gregory Deddo

The Broken Thought Machine [broh-kuhn thawt muh-sheen] , Michael Dispensa

Things that ignore , Sean Walker Hutton

The beauty of collision , Yixuan Pan

Dive , Aparna Sarkar

Hard work / soft work , Nicole Schonitzer

Blue loops , Rebecca Senn

In the muck and the mire , Orli Swergold

Like water taught by thirst , Emily Wilker

Everyone I have every crowed with 2021- , Hannah Lutz Winkler

Theses from 2020 2020

Frankenstein, Ruins, & Twilight , Braden Bandel

Hain't , Jarrett Key

3, 2, 1 , Omar Lalani

He Makes the Figs Our Mouths to Meet and Throws the Melons at Our Feet , Josh Meier

Smoke and mirrors , Kiernan Pazdar

This side of the air , Madeline Peckenpaugh

Slice of life : theater of the dinner table , Kate Pincus-Whitney

Father figures , Chris Regner

To protect the hell yeah and every hell yeah's variations , Lukey Walden

Theses from 2019 2019

Addicts of nostalgia , Samuel Robert Campbell Drake

Personal analysis of the relationship of artist to the subject in figurative painting , Zuhal Feraidon

Spontaneous laughter, laughter without reason , Evan Gilbert

The line that splits , Zahra Jewanjee

The person-less portrait , Katelyn Ledford

Where we are : where we thought we were going , Nathan Prebonick

Icarus : how to survive the fall , Emile Stark-Menneg

Theses from 2018 2018

Domestic disorientation , Marisa Adesman

To see again , Ada Goldfeld

Sky well , Molly Kaderka

Tightrope walking on the red lines , Arghavan Khosravi

Left hand stories , Saif Mhaisen

Pienso en ti , Gina Gwen Palacios

In a distant land , Ohad Sarfaty

Theses from 2017 2017

The past is today , Afra Al Dhaheri

Surface, object, space , Susan Doe

Humor and allegory , Christopher Goodale

Art loser , Laura Jasek

The little girl (kinda) , Hanna Kim

From Florine to flocking : observations of a painter - printmaker - embellisher , Elizabeth King

A theatrical life : negotiating biracial identity , Timothy Lai

The farce of the frame , Dominic Musa

Anthro/post/cene , Sofia Ortiz

Theses from 2016 2016

Interior mountains & distant clouds , Ping Zheng

Theses from 2015 2015

Make every day count: longing, vision, & painting , Sarah R. Pater

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SUNY New Paltz Masters in Fine Art (MFA) Thesis Collection

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At arm’s length: MFA Thesis - Sculpture

You & I are earth: a celebration of parties, affection, and the darkroom: MFA thesis - Photography and Related Media

Tehzeeb: what we bring to the table: MFA Thesis - Metal

Beyond shattered honor: MFA thesis - Photography and Related Media

This party is for you: explorations in celebration and healing: MFA Thesis - Printmaking

Mi querencia: MFA thesis - Photography and Related Media

Hiding place: MFA Thesis - Ceramics

Pulling teeth: MFA Thesis - Ceramics

Preserving tradition; embracing innovation: exploring contemporary Paubha and its journey to the West: MFA Thesis - Painting & Drawing

Fragments the sky dipped from gold to gray: MFA Thesis - Metal

Sunday funnies: MFA Thesis - Metal

Elegy for the wound: MFA Thesis - Metal

Intimate immensity: MFA Thesis - Ceramics

MFA Thesis - Painting

Corpus Ex Machina: a biomechanically collaborative exploration of the corporeal fantasies of artificial intelligence: MFA Thesis - Painting & Drawing

Fractured horizon: MFA Thesis - Photography and Related Media

Intimate exchanges: MFA Thesis - Printmaking

Take a breath: MFA Thesis - Sculpture

Transcendence: post-Catholic healing: MFA thesis - Photography and Related Media

Ethereal lines: MFA Thesis - Metal

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BU School of Visual Arts Presents the 2024 MFA Thesis Exhibitions

MFA branding designed by BU graphic design students Dhwani Garg, Veridiana Victorelli, Amanda Mundy, and Niharika Yellamraju

Boston University School of Visual Arts Presents the 2024 MFA Thesis Exhibitions

The exhibitions, on view from april 2-20, 2024, celebrate the work of 61 graduating mfa students – the largest cohort to date – in graphic design, painting, print media & photography, sculpture, and visual narrative programs ..

Boston University College of Fine Arts School of Visual Arts (SVA) is pleased to present the Class of 2024 Master of Fine Arts (MFA) Thesis Exhibitions, on view from April 2-20, 2024. The MFA thesis exhibitions feature works of graduating students in BU’s MFA programs in Graphic Design , Painting , Sculpture , Print Media & Photography , and Visual Narrative . This is the first thesis exhibition for the Print Media & Photography and Visual Narrative programs since their launch in 2022. With 61 participating students, the MFA Class of 2024 represents the largest cohort of graduating MFA students in the BU School of Visual Arts.

Also new for this year, SVA’s thesis exhibitions have expanded beyond BU and the traditional gallery space. The MFA Painting Thesis Exhibition will be on view at Boston University Art Galleries’ Faye G., Jo, and James Stone Gallery; BU Art Galleries’ 808 Gallery hosts the MFA Print Media & Photography and MFA Graphic Design ( Side B ) Thesis Exhibitions; and the MFA Visual Narrative Thesis Exhibition is taking place at the College of Fine Arts’ Commonwealth Gallery. The MFA Sculpture Thesis Exhibition will be a satellite show off-campus, on view in Allston at 1270 Commonwealth Avenue, an empty space that was once a drugstore and pharmacy.

“These MFA graduate students reveal highly individualized practices informed by culture, locale, historical research, texts, the property of materials, and the body’s relationship to the physical world. The studio is a site of transformation where the expansion of learning and the compression of making meet, as Painting MFA candidate James Gold aptly describes it in his catalog statement,” says Dana Clancy , BU School of Visual Arts Director and Associate Professor of Art, “Our graduate Class of 2024 are artists and designers who have weathered much recent cultural change and flux. A sense of experimentation and attention to community are both fostered through intense studio work, dialogue, and shared social time in and across programs.”

The BU community and the public are invited to experience the exhibitions and attend the receptions. Details regarding the exhibition hours and public receptions on April 12 and April 19 are listed below.

BU SCHOOL OF VISUAL ARTS MFA 2024 THESIS EXHIBITIONS

Dates, times & locations.

April 2-20, 2024

• Faye G., Jo and James Stone Gallery • 855 Commonwealth Avenue
• Gallery hours are Tuesdays through Saturdays from 11am to 5pm
• 808 Gallery • 808 Commonwealth Avenue
• Commonwealth Gallery • 855 Commonwealth Avenue
• Gallery hours are Mondays through Fridays from 7am to 8:30pm and Saturdays and Sundays from 9am to 8:30pm
• 1270 Commonwealth Avenue
• Exhibition hours are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 11am to 5pm and by appointment only on Thursdays (please email MFA Sculptor Mae-Chu O’Connell, [email protected] , to schedule a visit)

Exhibiting Students by Program

Mfa painting.

Cody Robert Hook Bluett • Sarai Bustos • Tea Chai Beer • Huakai Chen • Natalie Conway • James Gold • Abbi Kenny • Yingxue Daisy Li • Julia McGehean • Sayak Mitra • Linda Obobaifo • Stephanie Petet • Jacob Salzer • Sidharth Shah • Sophie Thervil • Ellen Weitkamp

MFA Sculpture

Helena Abdelnasser • Liam Coughlin • Alyssa Grey • Mae-Chu Lin O’Connell • Yolanda He Yang

MFA Visual Narrative

Sandeep Badal • Lafleche Giasson • Camila Kerwin • Ariel Cheng Kohane • Isabelle Rousseau • Sadie Saunders • Ella Scheuerell • Avanji Vaze • Xinhui Wang • Dajia Zhou

MFA Print Media & Photography

Sofia Barroso • Delaney C. Burns • Julianne Dao • Emily Taylor Rice

MFA Graphic Design

Charles Castro • Yidie Chen (Tica) • Qianyue Chen (Rachel) • Kristen Davis • Alexina Federhen • Dhwani Gopal Garg • Ren Lanzi • Liang Yi Lee (Gloria) • Chi Wei Lin (Eric) • Veridiana Monteiro Victorelli • Carolina Izsak • Arjun Lakshmanan • Christine Seungmin Roh • Raquel Rabines • Kristina Shumilina • Weimiao Sun (Davis) • Arfindo Briyan Santoso • Mengqi Tuo (Bella) • Dharshanya Venkataramanan • Lindsay Towle • Mengdi Wang (Cornelia) • Ash Wei • Xin Yue (Cecilia) • Yinxue Zou (Lucy) • Yingchen Zhou (Molly)

Faculty Advisors, Chairs, and Collaborators

Lynne Allen , Professor of Art, Printmaking, Chair of MFA Print Media & Photography • Kristen Coogan , Associate Professor of Art, Chair of MFA Graphic Design • Deborah Cornell , Professor of Art, Chair of BFA Printmaking • Joel Christian Gill , Associate Professor of Art, Chair of MFA Visual Narrative • Josephine Halvorson , Professor of Art, Chair of MFA Painting • Toni Pepe , Assistant Professor of Art, Chair of Photography • Christopher Sleboda , Associate Professor of Art, Chair of BFA Graphic Design • David Snyder , Assistant Professor of Art, Chair of MFA Sculpture • Lissa Cramer , Director, Boston University Art Galleries • Dana Clancy , Director, School of Visual Arts

Free Admission

All exhibitions are free admission and open to the BU community and the public.  

Parking/Transportation Information

The BU Art Galleries and Commonwealth Gallery are all accessible by the MBTA Green Line, taking the B line to the Amory Street station. Limited street parking is available on and around Commonwealth Avenue. Please visit BU’s Transportation website for a list of public parking lots near BU College of Fine Arts.

More on bu mfa thesis shows

Related Events

MFA Exhibition Receptions

Painting & Visual Narrative Reception

Friday, April 12 • 6-8pm • Faye G., Jo, and James Stone Gallery, and Commonwealth Gallery • 855 Commonwealth Avenue

Graphic Design and Print Media & Photography Reception

Friday, April 19 • 6-8pm • 808 Gallery • 808 Commonwealth Avenue, enter at Essex Street and Commonwealth Avenue

Sculpture Reception

Friday, April 19 • 7-9pm • 1270 Commonwealth Avenue (vacant CVS in Allston)  

MFA Special Events

Visual Narrative Book Talk 1 – MFA visual narrative students will present professional graphic novel book pitches, read excerpts, and exhibit pages from their books-in-progress.

Wednesday, April 10 • 3-5pm

Howard Thurman Center, Room 104, 808 Commonwealth Avenue & Online

register for the free event

Visual Narrative Book Talk 2

Friday, April 12 • 3-5pm

MA Art Education Exhibition and Reception

Alongside the MFA Thesis Exhibitions, the MA Art Education students install the artwork created by their students from Boston-area schools. MA Art Education students prepare to be teaching artists by engaging in coursework and research that include interdisciplinary studies, collaboration with other programs and colleges, arts-based research methods, and immersive practice in PreK-12 schools, museums, or in the community.

April 16-26, 2024 • Gallery 5 • 855 Commonwealth Avenue

Friday, April 16 • 5-7pm • Gallery 5 • 855 Commonwealth Avenue

Boston University

Founded in 1839, Boston University is an internationally recognized institution of higher education and research. With more than 34,000 students, it is the fourth-largest independent university in the United States. BU consists of 17 schools and colleges, along with a number of multi-disciplinary centers and institutes integral to the University’s research and teaching mission. In 2012, BU joined the Association of American Universities (AAU), a consortium of 62 leading research universities in the United States and Canada. Learn more at bu.edu .

Boston University College of Fine Arts

Established in 1954, Boston University College of Fine Arts (CFA) is a community of artist-scholars and scholar-artists who are passionate about the fine and performing arts, committed to diversity and inclusion, and determined to improve the lives of others through art. With programs in Music, Theatre, and Visual Arts, CFA prepares students for a meaningful creative life by developing their intellectual capacity to create art, shift perspective, think broadly, and master relevant skills. CFA offers a wide array of undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs, as well as a range of online degrees and certificates. Learn more at bu.edu/cfa .

BU College of Fine Arts School of Visual Arts

Boston University College of Fine Arts School of Visual Arts prepares students to think seriously, to see critically, to make intensely, and to act with creative agency in the contemporary world. The School of Visual Arts merges the intensive studio education of an art school with the opportunities of a large urban university, and is committed to educating the eye, hand, and mind of the artist. With rigorous graduate and undergraduate fine art programs that are rooted in studio practice, CFA School of Visual Arts provides highly motivated students with programs in the bedrock disciplines, of the fine arts coupled with a vast array of electives and liberal arts opportunities.

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A Signal Urgent But Breaking

2023 painting/printmaking mfa thesis exhibition.

January 30 – February 22, 2023

Organized by Kristen Hileman and Rachelle Dang.

Featuring work by 2023 MFA students in Painting/Printmaking: Alexandria Couch, Stephano Espinoza Galarza, Daniela Gomez Paz, Jonathan Herrera Soto, Soren Hope, Christopher Paul Jordan, Fiza Khatri, Estelle Maisonett, Tura Oliveira, Can Yağız, Ang Ziqi Zhang, Emmanuel Amoakohene, Hunter Foster, Rina Goldfield, Nina Hartmann, Erick Alejandro Hernández, Natia Lemay, Phoebe Little, Maya Perry, Gabriela Rassi, Bryan Ali Sanchez, and María Vargas Aguilar.

Exhibition identity by Jisung Park and Cat Wentworth, Graphic Design MFAs ‘23.

Last edited by: Lindsey Mancini

Edit access: Everybody

Group 1: January 30 – February 6, 2023

Group 1 artists: Alexandria Couch, Stephano Espinoza Galarza, Daniela Gomez Paz, Jonathan Herrera Soto, Soren Hope, Christopher Paul Jordan, Fiza Khatri, Estelle Maisonett, Tura Oliveira, Can Yağız, and Ang Ziqi Zhang.

Public reception on Friday, February 3, 6–8 PM

Group 2: February 15–22, 2023

Group 2 artists: Emmanuel Amoakohene, Hunter Foster, Rina Goldfield, Nina Hartmann, Erick Alejandro Hernández, Natia Lemay, Phoebe Little, Maya Perry, Gabriela Rassi, Bryan Ali Sanchez, and María Vargas Aguilar.

Public opening on Friday, February 17, 6–8 PM

Virtual Exhibition Walk-Throughs

Friday receptions are open to the public. All visitors must be fully vaccinated and boosted. Proof of vaccination/booster is required. Masks are strongly recommended and may be required in the galleries at the discretion of the school during receptions based on capacity and visitor policies.

During all other gallery hours, exhibitions are only open to the Yale Community (current ID holders) and their invited accompanied guests.

Find all upcoming receptions on our public events calendar here >

YALE COMMUNITY & INVITED, ACCOMPANIED GUESTS

Spring 2023 Gallery Hours: * Monday-Friday 10AM - 6PM; Saturday 12PM to 4PM

* Extended hours of 4-6PM on Mondays-Fridays and 12-4PM on Saturdays are subject to change based on gallery docent availability.

California Institute of the Arts

School of Art

Expand your practice

With its emphasis on individualized instruction and mentoring, CalArts’ two-year MFA in Art program provides artists the flexibility to design a specialized course of study to suit each person’s practice and ambitions. As a CalArts graduate student, you’ll join a vibrant community of artists with an unparalleled legacy centered in Los Angeles and making waves around the world, building a strong foundation for independent work in the studio, community, and beyond.   

MFA Open Studios 2024.

Consider, critique, and shape the world through your work

... and influence the political and social fields you inhabit.

Our MFA program in Art challenges every artist to develop a critical self-awareness about their work, and to better understand the aesthetic, social, and intellectual contexts that inform artmaking in today’s globalized world. 

Related programs

• MFA Art and Technology
• MFA Photo Media
• MFA Graphic Design
• BFA Photography and Media
• BFA Graphic Design

Connect with us

The curriculum in the MFA Art encourages graduate students to explore and expand your practice beyond the confines of specific genres, techniques, or media. Each MFA Art student is assigned an individual studio, where you’ll work with accomplished faculty as collaborators and mentors to cultivate your own areas of interest and develop the research trajectories and critical thinking necessary for informed artmaking. In critiques, seminars, individualized studio practice, independent studies, and deeply engaging social environments, MFA students hone skills and abilities that provide a framework for a meaningful, lifelong practice.

To earn the MFA Art degree, candidates must pass two faculty reviews of their overall artistic and academic progress, once at mid-residence and again prior to graduation. Students are expected to present a project or exhibition during the first year, and required to do so by the end of the second. 

Interested in the program?

View our step-by-step application guide to learn more.  

Admission requirements

To be considered for the MFA Art program, you must complete an application and all program-specific requirements, including a portfolio, an artist statement, and letters of recommendation. Applicants who pass the preliminary selection process will be contacted to visit CalArts for an interview. Before applying, please familiarize yourself with the detailed application requirements and resources available to assist you in this important process. 

View application requirements

Degree requirements

Each CalArts MFA Art and Advanced Certificate of Fine Arts student develops a course of study in consultation with their faculty mentor, and produces a significant project or exhibition during both the first and second year.  

View MFA Art academic requirements

Interdisciplinary opportunities

In addition to CalArts’ naturally collaborative atmosphere, the Institute provides several programs of study that can be pursued concurrently with a student’s chosen metier, such as a concentration in Arts Education or Integrated Media.

Learn more about MFA concentrations

Courses you might take

What courses would you take as an MFAArt student? Browse the courses offered in the School of Art, including opportunities to work in painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, digital imaging, sculpture, installation, video, film, writing, performance, and much more.

Explore the School of Art course catalog

Meet the faculty

At CalArts, faculty and students are collaborators, teaching, learning, and working together as members of our community of artists. 

All Art faculty

Michael Ned Holte

Clara López Menéndez

Julie Tolentino

Darcy Huebler

Clicking the buttons in this list will open the gallery lightbox.

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What will you make?

The Art School Project Archive, launched in May 2021, offers a window into the diverse and vital work our students are producing at CalArts.

• Explore the Art School Project Archive

Amanda Teixeira, how to peel an orange or invisible acts of care , 2024. 98 orange peels, golden thread, wood, 3 × 8 × 12 ft.

Some of our alumni

• Mark Allen (MFA 99): founder of artist-run space Machine Project
• Edgar Arceneaux (MFA 01): mixed-media, installation, video, and performance artist; Performa 15’s Malcolm McLaren Award for  Until, Until, Until...
• Ericka Beckman (MFA 76): experimental filmmaker
• Jeremy Blake (MFA 95): digital artist, painter
• Nayland Blake (MFA 84): artist
• Ross Bleckner (MFA 73): painter
• Andrea Bowers (MFA 92): mixed-media artist
• Mark Bradford (MFA 97, BFA 95): mixed-media painter; MacArthur “genius” fellow, Whitney Biennial Buckbaum Award
• Ingrid Calame (MFA 96): painter
• James Casebere (MFA 79): photo-conceptualist
• Fiona Connor (MFA 11): sculptor, environmental artist
• Sofia Coppola (94): filmmaker, designer
• Meg Cranston (MFA 86): sculptor, painter, writer
• Danielle Dean (MFA 12): mixed-media, performance, and research artist
• Patricia Fernández (MFA 10): mixed-media, performance, and research artist
• Victoria Fu (MFA 05): installation artist
• Jack Goldstein (MFA 72): painter, experimental filmmaker
• Liz Glynn (MFA 08): sculptor, installation and performance artist
• Guillermo Gomez-Peña (MFA 83, BFA 81): performance artist; MacArthur “genius” fellow
• Kenyatta A.C. Hinkle (Art-Creative Writing MFA 12): interdisciplinary artist, writer, performer
• Kira Lynn Harris (MFA 98): mixed-media artist
• Richard Hawkins (MFA 88): mixed-media collage artist
• Jim Isermann (MFA 80): installation artist, designer
• Mike Kelley (MFA 78): sculptor, mixed-media, installation, video and performance artist
• Alice Könitz (MFA 99): sculptor, installation artist
• David Kordansky (MFA 02): gallerist
• Suzanne Lacy (MFA 73): performance, installation, and video artist, writer, chair of Graduate Public Practice, Otis College of Art and Design
• Rita McBride (MFA 87): sculptor, director of Kunstakademie Düsseldorf
• Rodney McMillian (MFA 02): mixed-media, installation, and performance artist
• John Miller (MFA 79), painter, sculptor, writer, musician
• Dave Muller (MFA 93), mixed-media artist, DJ
• Alex Olson (MFA 08), painter
• Rubén Ortiz-Torres (MFA 92), photo artist, painter, sculptor, filmmaker
• Laura Owens (MFA 94), painter
• Akosua Adoma Owusu (Art-Film/Video MFA 08), experimental filmmaker
• Lari Pittman (MFA 76, BFA 74), painter
• Monique Prieto (MFA 94, BFA 92), painter
• Stephen Prina (MFA 80), mixed-media and performance artist, filmmaker, composer
• Marina Rosenfeld (Art-Music MFA 94), sound artist and composer
• David Salle (MFA 75, BFA 73), painter
• Jim Shaw (MFA 78), mixed-media and installation artist
• Mario García Torres (MFA 05), conceptual artist
• Clarissa Tossin (MFA 09), photo, mixed-media, and installation artist
• Kaari Upson (MFA 07, BFA 04), sculptor, installation artist
• Lesley Vance (MFA 03), painter
• Faith Wilding (MFA 73), eco-feminist artist and activist
• Christopher Williams (MFA 81, BFA 79), photo-conceptualist

More School of Art alumni

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Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg

Explore the World. Choose your Adventure.

Explore the MFA Collection and Special Exhibitions

Experience the rich and diverse world of art at the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg. Our permanent collection spans thousands of years, featuring works from ancient civilizations to modern masterpieces, while our special exhibitions offer fresh perspectives and rotating displays of world-class art.

Whether you're captivated by classic paintings, contemporary sculptures, or rare artifacts, there's always something new to discover. Join us in celebrating the power of art to inspire and connect across cultures and time.

EXHIBITIONS

Currently on view.

EXPLORE HIGHLIGHTS FROM OUR COLLECTION

Coming Soon! We’re developing an exciting new way to explore our collection online. Stay tuned!