IU Art Museum, SoFA Gallery home to master's students

Two years and countless tubes of paint, pieces of clay and rolls of film later, the Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Arts is saying farewell to another group of masters of fine arts students.\nFor these students, their years at IU culminate with an exhibition of their work at the IU Art Museum or School of Fine Arts Gallery. The students are divided into groups and their work is featured for nearly two weeks at venue of their choosing, said Nan Brewer, Lucienne N. Glaubinger curator of works on paper at the IUAM. As liaison for the student and faculty shows at the museum, Brewer encourages as many people as possible to come and see the talent the MFA students possess. \n"This is their scholarly production. It's the same thing as hearing a lecture by a grad student," Brewer said.\nThe exhibitions, free and open to the public, are highlighted by artist receptions where the featured students conduct 10-minute gallery talks and answer questions from the public. This helps the public gain a greater understanding of the artist's creative development and thought processes behind his or her work. The exhibitions give the Bloomington and IU communities one last opportunity to see the students' work before moving on to their professional careers. Some view the MFA thesis exhibits as another way for the public to access works in arts-rich Bloomington.\n"I think that (the arts) are accessible and alive," MFA student Theodore Prawat said. "It's an alive culture; it's thriving. There's so many ways to access it."\nPrawat, whose paintings were featured at the IUAM March 31 through April 11, said studying at IU has given him more confidence in his abilities to paint. Prawat chose IU because of the SoFA's reputation for being "one of the top five programs for grad students in the nation." \n"The venue is just so perfect. It's very professional. I love it," Prawat said. "It's very exciting for me. It's a great step forward."\nJunior Meghan Hochgesang attended the reception for Prawat and MFA painter Todd Podolsky.\n"I think art is really important ... It gives you an insight to things you don't see unless you come and visually see them. I think it's impressive for non-arts majors to come and see how much talent there actually is," Hochgesang said.\nMFA student Stephen Cefalo's paintings will be on display at the IUAM April 28 through May 9.\n"I think it is important for everyone to look at art and not only people who are particularly knowledgeable about art," Cefalo said. "It will be a strong exhibition. There should be something there for everyone."\nThe works by the MFA featured students are on exhibit in the Art Museum's Special Exhibitions Gallery which is open Tuesday through Sunday. The exhibitions featured at the SoFA are on display in the SoFA Gallery, Room 123. The Gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday. For more information, visit www.indiana.edu/~iuam or www.fa.indiana.edu/~sofa.\n-- Contact staff writer Jana Strange at jcstrang@indiana.edu.