University of the Fraser Valley

Feast your senses at UFV’s Visual Arts Show

Feast your senses at UFV’s Visual Arts Show

The valley’s best and brightest visual arts students offer impressive, diverse displays for next week’s opening of UFV’s Bachelor of Fine Arts grad show.
Vivid colour runs throughout this year’s show, kicked off with an opening reception Friday, April 26, at 6:30 p.m. in the Visual Arts Gallery, Building C, room C1043 on UFV’s Abbotsford campus. The show runs until May 17, and the public is invited to drop in anytime between 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday for a free self-guided tour of the exhibition (See our preview gallery here).
“This year we’re seeing a lot of use of vibrant, almost psychedelic colour,” reveals Visual Arts instructor Grace Tsurumaru.

Graduating students prepare for the BFA year-end Visual Arts show.
Graduating students prepare for the BFA year-end Visual Arts show.

Each student decides his or her own theme — some formulating their approach in September, or even earlier. Works include paintings, dresses, video, sculptures and more.
“It’s a great opportunity to see what up-and-coming young artists are up to, including what themes and issues they’re dealing with in these modern times,” says Tsurumaru.
“Anyone with an interest in the arts will enjoy this show.”
Nearing graduation, students’ works have become more complex and critically developed, she explains.

For example, graduating student Jenessa Galmut etched sketches into copper plates, which were immersed into an acid bath before being scanned and printed on Stonehenge paper for an impressive custom book featuring interactive constellations.
“There’s a lot of great work in this show,” she says, crediting UFV’s BFA program for the growth she’s seen in her own work, and the work of her peers.
“We’re a tight group with a good range of disciplines.”
Graduates of the program follow a variety of paths, including getting their teaching certification, working in related jobs in the field of arts, establishing themselves as working artists, travelling, or advancing into a master’s degree program.

Graduating student Jenessa Galmut and her hand-made book on constellations.
Graduating student Jenessa Galmut and her hand-made book on constellations.

“It’s all a part of that journey to find your place in this world and to discover who you are as an artist,” Tsurumaru says.
Hailing from Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Langley and Mission, this year’s fourth-year UFV Bachelor of Fine Arts students include: Lindsay Craig, Jenessa Galmut, Chalie Howes, Jessica Laibahas, Lauralee Lamarche, Majd Mansour, Jenaya McChesney, Charissa Smith, and Jeff Stackhouse.

Once again, the UFV Alumni Association played an important part in this year’s production, sharing the talented creations of our latest graduates with UFV alumni leading up to the event in addition to a wonderful wine and cheese reception on April 26. By engaging UFV’s alumni, students were inspired to continue working towards their goals while experiencing the tangible and mutually beneficial connection UFV shares with its graduates.
For more, visit ufv.ca/ufv_visual_arts.