SUNY Oswego graduate students in art to display work

OSWEGO -- An artist's reception for four SUNY Oswego candidates for graduate degrees in art will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, March 10, in Tyler Art Gallery, marking the formal opening of the Master of Art Student Exhibition, which runs March 3 to 26.

Exhibitions for graduating students such as Lily Choi, Alejandro DeJesus, Erin Farrell and Julia Furlong allow them the chance to share their work with the campus and community, reflect on their own accomplishments and unique artistic voice, and learn to collaborate with other artists in designing the exhibits.

"Using design as a tool to benefit people has always been of interest to me," said Choi in her artist's statement. "The projects showcased here embody this underlying theme. It is fascinating that design can be a platform for helping a community become more sustainable or an ally in one's journey to find balance and inner peace. When approaching a design problem, my focus is always on the end users and how I can construct an effective design solution for them, whether an app website or other interactive experience." Choi earned a bachelor's degree in graphic design from SUNY Oswego in 2015.

DeJesus, who earned a bachelor's degree in art illustration at Syracuse University, said, "My illustration style is line-driven with a carefully selected color palette and has found its way into my current style of design."

A traditional artist, art educator and graphic designer from Plattsburgh, Farrell said she has done work for Healing House in Parishville, drawing inspiration from reiki, a Japanese technique that promotes healing through relaxation and stress relief. "My design draws heavily from traditional and tactile methods. Much of my work features sketches, hand-drawn elements, and natural textures transposed into a digital space," she said.

Quilt designer and Cato resident Furlong said, "My work is an exploration of personal relationships and the influences on those relationships. In creating this quilt line, I wanted to look more deeply at what I already understood about three significant relationships in my life and discover new aspects of these relationships that weren't apparent before. My goal for this work is … to also explore how traditional methods can be used in conjunction with modern technology and art principles to create new visual forms that are still rooted in a craft."

Tyler Art Gallery is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays. Parking on campus is by permit only; for those without a current SUNY Oswego parking sticker, visit oswego.edu/parking for information on obtaining a daily use permit.

For more information, contact Michael Flanagan, director of Tyler Art Gallery, at 315-312-2112 or michael.flanagan@oswego.edu.