Western Connecticut State University
2023 MFA Thesis Exhibition
June 20 – July 8, 2023
Reception: Thursday, June 22, 5 -8pm
Dan Baker
Marcus Escribano
Lilah Heyman
Aimee Jette
The MFA Thesis Exhibition is the summation of two years of intensive, creative study and extensive interaction with resident faculty and visiting artists for students of WCSU’s Department of Art’s Graduate Program. This exhibition is supported by the Jason and Ellen Hancock Student Endowment Fund at Western Connecticut State University.
The Master of Fine Arts in Visual Arts is the preferred degree for the practicing artist who is preparing for a professional career in the visual arts. M.F.A. degrees are available in painting, illustration and interdisciplinary visual art. The M.F.A. Thesis Exhibition is the capstone experience of the graduate program, demonstrating a personal direction and mastery in the work of the artists. Four graduate students will present their thesis work this year:
Dan Baker is an interdisciplinary artist who works in multiple practices, including photography, printmaking, painting, drawing, and collage. In 2021, he earned a BA in Photography from WCSU and has exhibited his work in several collaborative shows in CT. His short film, “Perfect Lovers,” was shown on The Marty Heiser Show and The Chris Pante Show on Danbury, Bethel, and Ridgefield Television. In May 2023, he will have a solo exhibition of mixed media works at Art in Common Gallery, Ridgefield, CT.
Marcus Escribano earned his BA in Photography from WCSU in 2019 and received the Department of Art’s Excellence in Photography Award. He studied abroad at the Rome Art Program in the summer of 2018 and was invited to return in 2022 as a visiting artist and painting instructor. Since 2017, Escribano’s work has been in gallery and online exhibitions in the U.S., Italy, Greece and Hungary and at the 2022 Miami Art Basel. His work has been published in British Vogue Gallery and Vanity Fair U.K. and was recently selected for the permanent collection of the Yukyung Art Museum in South Korea.
Lilah Heyman is a painter, drawer, printmaker and embroiderer. She earned her BFA in Studio Arts from Fairfield University, where she received the CAS Arts & Sciences Award for Distinguished Work in Visual and Expressive Arts. She has worked with Fairfield University Art Museum and contributed to the creation of a coloring book based on the museum’s permanent collection. In 2022, Heyman’s work was shown at Bruce S. Kershner Gallery in Fairfield, CT, where she was honored with a People’s Choice Award. Upcoming exhibits include a 3-person show at Bruce S. Kershner Gallery from June to August 2023 and a solo show at Art in Common Gallery, Ridgefield, CT, in October 2023.
Aimee Jette received an MA in Creative Arts Therapy Counseling from Hofstra University in 2019 and a BA from Albertus Magnus College. Since 2002, Jette’s work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions in Connecticut, New York and Pennsylvania. She was awarded a Gullkistan Artist in Residency in Iceland, where her work was also exhibited. In 2016, Aimee founded Art in Common, Inc., a non-profit charitable organization that connects communities by promoting creativity and compassion through the expressive arts. Art in Common Gallery, located in Ridgefield, CT, had its grand opening earlier this year and offers art classes, workshops, and gallery exhibitions.
For more information, contact the Department of Art at (203) 837-8403 or WCSU Public Relations at pr@wcsu.edu.