MFA Thesis Exhibition opens Mar 29

This year’s thesis class includes seven painters and three illustrators.  They have thoughtful comments about their work.

Amy Almeida, from Fairfield, CT, creates large-scale, powerful paintings that often include light bulbs and chandeliers as subjects.  “I use specific objects, reflections, light and shadows symbolically by painting them inside a particular reality that carries the expression of each piece independently.”

Renee Bascetta, of Waterbury, CT, creates small-scale works, often watercolors.  She explains, “As an illustrator, I love to tell stories with images.  My hope is to bring out the child inside the viewer.  My current works are regarding traditional American holidays.”

Christina Ciacci, from Milford, CT, is a painter of compelling works.  “I am particularly interested in shape and color functioning as weight and air.  Finding the shapes through observed forms and the use of my own intuitive sense of color, I seek to portray experiences or situations in my life.”

Christopher Donnelly lives in Guildford, CT.  An inventive illustrator, he writes of his work, “I see the world as an imaginable place where characters of all types live to overcome difficulties.  As a character designer, it is my task to lend plausibility to the look and feel of a ‘toon, in order for it to be believable.” 

Tiffany Johnson is from White Plains, NY, and paints in a strong range from figurative to abstract forms.  Some are bold portraits; others are textural abstractions.  “The self portrait compositions”, she writes, “represent my use of color relationships and built up surfaces.”        

Megan Marden is from New Preston, CT.  She works with intriguing set-ups, some that include dinosaur toys.  “I paint from direct observation.  While areas of my paintings are abstracted, they do not stray from reality arbitrarily.  I find myself drawn to surface and three dimensional qualities in a work of art.”

Eunsoo Park, of Trumbull, CT, is originally from South Korea.  Her intensely colored and patterned paintings are based in nature.  “Beauty is found almost anywhere in this world.  By working with a larger scale, I will both create an expansive image that draws the viewer in, and accentuate the beauty of my subject.”

Angeli Robinson, of New Rochelle, NY, describes her lyrical, abstract paintings as “full of fresh colors and bold, expressive brushwork.  These elements come together in dynamic compositions that are full of life and energy.”

Linda Ann Rynkowski, of Darien, CT, is a landscape painter.  “When engaged in painting from observation, I seek to evoke the sense of atmospheric phenomenon found in nature, creating a dialogue in which the subject transcends the canvas, evoking a sense of deep, intimate space, the perception of color as light.”

Jennifer Wyzykowski lives in Harwinton, CT.  Her illustrations are engaging.  She writes, “My work has evolved into being inspired by children and what they feel.  Children need to know that what they think is important.  I am creating a book with their thoughts and feelings in mind.”