VISUAL ARTS + MUSEUMS

A tattooed pig's skin. Skeletons created by altering and arranging women's undergarments. A heavily textured book where the reader experiences varying tactile sensations. Painted portraits of female nobility in Victorian England. These are some of the works visitors will see at the 33rd School of Art Masters Thesis Exhibition being presented at the University of Houston's Blaffer Art Museum from April 23 through May 14, 2011.

This year's Master of Fine Arts candidates are Michelle Chen-Dubose, Jeremy DePrez, Francis Giampietro, J. Giroux, David Graeve, Emily Peacock, Suzanne Powney, Britt Ragsdale, Hana Shoup, and Frances Trotter. Blaffer Art Museum invites the public to celebrate their accomplishments at a free opening reception at Blaffer on Friday, April 22, from 6 until 9 p.m. Real Ale Brewing Company will be present to provide complimentary libations. Non-alcoholic refreshments will also be available.

"Our MFA Graduates this year are some of the most driven and creative people I've met. And they defy any sort of "sizing up" that anyone might try to corral them with. What a visitor will see in this exhibition is an extraordinary variety of explorations, using media and methods fluidly, and purposefully," said School of Art director John Reed. "It's a very impressive show," he added.

Pictured above:  Installation image featuring the work of Francis Trotter.