VISUAL ARTS + MUSEUMS

Each year, Blaffer Gallery, the Art Museum of the University of Houston, presents an exhibition showcasing works by graduating Master of Fine Arts students in the School of Art. This year, 11 students are featured in the 2010 School of Art Masters Thesis Exhibition, on view from March 27 through April 24, 2010. The MFA candidates are Debra Barrera, Nancy Douthey, Geoff Hippenstiel, Sura Khudairi, Robyn Lehmer, Grant C. MacManus, Richard Nix, Anne J. Regan, Keijiro Suzuki, Tala Vahabzadeh, and Vanessa VanAlstyne. The public is invited to celebrate their successes at an opening reception at Blaffer on Friday, March 26, from 6 until 8 p.m. Admission is free, and refreshments will be provided.

The exhibiting artists spent the last three years at the University of Houston focusing on one of the following disciplines: graphic communication, painting, photography and digital media, and sculpture. The School of Art encourages their students to think interdisciplinary and explore a multitude of media, and the resulting exhibition is dynamic: works range from video to creative writing to sound installations.

The visiting public has the opportunity to hear the artists talk about the ideas behind their works during the Brown Bag Gallery Tours on Wednesday, March 31 (featuring Douthey, Khudairi, and Nix), Thursday, April 1 (featuring Barrera, Lehmer, Vahabzadeh, and VanAlstyne), and Wednesday, April 7 (featuring Hippenstiel, MacManus, Regan, and Suzuki). Admission to each tour is free, and refreshments will be provided. Visitors are encouraged to bring lunch.

"As a team, the Blaffer staff is thrilled to present these MFA projects as a culmination of the artists' three years of graduate study at the University of Houston," stated associate curator Rachel Hooper. "The artworks in their thesis exhibition are a testament to the artists' bravery in pushing the boundaries of convention and their desire to seek a meaningful engagement with their audiences."

Schedule of Events:

6 - 8 p.m. Friday, March 26
Opening Reception

12 p.m. Wednesday, March 31
Brown Bag Gallery Tour
Featuring Nancy Douthey, Sura Khudairi, and Richard Nix

12 p.m. Thursday, April 1
Brown Bag Gallery Tour
Featuring Debra Barrera, Robyn Lehmer, Tala Vahabzadeh, and Vanessa VanAlstyne

4 - 7 p.m. Thursday, April 1
Blaffer Student Association Red Block Bash

12 p.m. Wednesday, April 7
Brown Bag Gallery Tour
Featuring Geoff Hippenstiel, Grant C. MacManus, Anne J. Regan, and Keijiro Suzuki

About Blaffer Gallery:
Founded in 1973, Blaffer Gallery, the Art Museum of the University of Houston, was named in honor of the late Sarah Campbell Blaffer, a noted Houston arts patron and collector. Since its inception, the museum has been a vital force in the presentation and promotion of contemporary visual arts in Houston. Blaffer Gallery is located in the Fine Arts Building on the University of Houston's central campus, entrance 16 off Cullen Boulevard. It is free and open to the public Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed Sundays, Mondays and university holidays. The museum is ADA compliant. For general inquiries, please call 713.743.9530, or visit the museum online at www.blaffergallery.org.

The 2010 School of Art Masters Thesis Exhibition is made possible in part by the University of Houston's Student Fees Advisory Committee.

Blaffer Gallery exhibitions and programs are supported by the Blaffer Gallery Director's Discretionary Endowment Fund, the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, The George and Mary Josephine Hamman Foundation, KUHF 88.7 FM, and the Texas Commission on the Arts. Educational outreach programs are made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services. Additional educational support is provided by Dorothy C. Sumner, the Travelers Foundation, the Kinder Morgan Foundation, and an anonymous donor. Staff salaries are supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Pictured above:  work by Debra Barrera (foreground) and Robyn Lehmer (background).