Students showcase their BFA exhibitions

April 6, 2023 - Fourteen University of Wisconsin-River Falls senior BFA candidates will present their Bachelor of Fine Arts degree exhibitions in Gallery 101 of the Kleinpell Fine Arts building April 12 –May 3. The exhibition includes glass, graphic design, printmaking, ceramics, and an art history thesis presentation. An opening reception is Friday, April 14, from 4-8 p.m. in Gallery 101. The exhibition and opening reception are free and open to the public.

Celia Becker was born and raised in western Wisconsin. She primarily works with glass but also enjoys painting and creating multimedia sculptures. Her inspiration often comes from her desire to form genuine connections with others. Whether she’s laughing, crying, or both simultaneously, she strongly believes life is more fulfilling with company. 

Lane Bohlig is a multimedia designer from Beaver Dam, who specializes in graphic design, printmaking, and painting. Their imaginative work reflects both humor and identity. Bohlig’s oil paintings were on display at the UWRF Student Juried Exhibition in spring 2022 and 2023. 

Veda Campbell is a graphic designer and small business owner based out of Prescott. Campbell is the co-founder of Blooming Brightly, an eco-friendly candle company with products sold both online and in stores locally. Her business was featured in a recent issue of the Woodbury Magazine. 

Vanessa Christiansen, an artist based in River Falls, is majoring in art education with an emphasis in printmaking with a focus in the intaglio and relief processes.

Alayna De La Cruz is a printmaker from small town Minnesota. Her work focuses on the female form and natural elements to explore ideas of body image and harmony between body and earth. Much of her inspiration comes from her travels to the west, growing up as a plant enthusiast, and having close connections to strong women. 

Grace Hajlo is a ceramic artist from Maplewood, Minn. Her hobbies include spending time in nature, hiking, and biking. The influence of nature is evident in her pots that resemble natural shapes and formations. She often uses a coil building process and soft slabs to create flowy, organically shaped sculptures that allow the clay to move itself and create its own shapes. Her pieces were displayed in the 2022 Student Juried Exhibition. 

Connor Isenberg of Cannon Falls, Minn., has an emphasis in ceramics. He uses multiple processes to explore ideas and to research the possibilities of clay.  After graduation, he plans to continue his research in clay through internships and residencies.

Madeline Jezierski is an American photographer with interests in printmaking and drawing. Her work is mainly based on nature and realism, inspired by the tranquility and solace that it brings to her life. She combines her enjoyment for adventure and love for photography to capture unique and personal experiences. 

Miranda Kieren is a multi-media artist from western Wisconsin focusing on painting and ceramics. Inspired by aspects of nature (rocks, bones, and moss) and the memories and emotions of herself and others, she uses color, texture, and light to convey complex abstract concepts through literal forms. 

McKenzie Lachowitzer is a mixed media artist and art historian from Stillwater, Minn. Her main passion is researching artworks that involve intersectional feminism, gender, and the media’s influence on these topics. She also likes to create mixed media collage artwork that involves text, personal narrative, and nature. 

Natalie Meyer is a three-dimensional artist whose work examines the mechanical relationship in our daily lives with inventive qualities whether imaginative or realistic. They use many media platforms not limited to glass, metal, plastic, ceramic, and fibers. The uses of these materials are needed to make the pieces functional or aesthetically pleasing. Their work is made through many processes of examination and application of trial and error like any inventor. Meyer’s work has evolved from the failures of today’s technologies and the ideas that imagination can create the next generation of creations.

Maddy Rae Powers is an artist currently living in Mondovi but originally from Turtle Lake. Her focus is on illustration and graphic design. She mostly uses traditional mediums such as marker and watercolor, however, is also exploring the possibilities of digital mediums as well. Her inspiration for her art comes from the quiet parts of life that happen around her.

Juliana Romero-Jensen was born in River Falls and is currently based in Minneapolis where she works on different types of digital media. Whether that be illustrations, branding, packaging, posters, or web design, she is pursuing her goal of doing it all. With her extra time, she works on ceramic pieces and handbuilds whatever her stomach desires. She is passionate about food advertisement and packaging. Her end goal is to work with a food marketing company and continue her love for all things food.

Moz Rude is a ceramic artist born in Minnesota and residing in Hudson. Rude is currently a teaching artist at Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis and a ceramic instructor at the Phipps Center for the Arts in Hudson. Rude’s personal work is a collection of ceramic forms containing illustrative allegories on the surfaces that act as a catalog of their experiences with space and time. They enjoy handbuilding, altering thrown forms and building sculptural work. Rude hopes to create an intimate experience through ceramic objects that contemplate and document their memories.