The depth and breadth of New Mexico State University's art students' talent will be on display this spring with the Master of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Fine Arts thesis exhibitions. The shows will open with a joint reception from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 1 at the University Art Museum Contemporary Art Gallery.
The MFA thesis exhibition, titled "Where We Ended Up," features work by master's candidates Arch Jones and Ezekiel Martey. The two-person show is the culmination of their research and development during their program and spans a variety of media and processes.
Jones, an interdisciplinary artist, works primarily in painting and installation. He uses immersive storytelling to manipulate the scientific jargon often used in anthropology. He has exhibited his work across the country and received the President's Award at the 2024 Juried Student Show at NMSU.
Martey is an interdisciplinary artist who works across sculpture, installation, jewelry and metalsmithing. Born and raised in Ghana, Martey's work is shaped by his personal experiences with labor, waiting, adaptation and the pressure of migration. He has exhibited his work nationally and internationally and has received awards and institutional recognition like an Honorable Mention from the Society of North American Goldsmiths in 2025.
Concurrently, "Raw Perception" will showcase the wide range of perspectives, materials and styles of NMSU's graduating BFA students. This year's exhibition features the individual works of Melise Butler, Zoë Char, Candace Deskin, Imperio Hernandez, Chantay Herrera, Grace Kyle, Asa Lambert, Angelina Lopez and Meredith Rose. Their work spans photography, sculpture, oil painting, graphic design, ceramics and metals.
Butler is a French-American artist and photographer who uses photography and alternative modes of presentation to navigate the world as someone with a visual impairment. Char, an Asian-American artist inspired by her upbringing and family life, specializes in steel, ceramics, graphic design and photography. Deskin is a New Mexican photographer and sculptor who focuses on landscapes, portraits and sculpture, crafting steel frames for her photographs. Hernandez uses her experiences growing up in the Catholic church to craft ornamental jewelry pieces from bronze, copper, brass and silver.
While Herrera, Kyle and Lambert are oil painters, they each bring a unique perspective to the craft. Herrera, a Mexican-American representational oil painter, works with figures, imagery and locations from her experiences growing up on the border. Kyle, originally from Las Cruces, illustrates her experience of womanhood through ethereal landscapes, medieval iconography, history, religion as well as themes of guilt, anger and forgiveness. Lambert's large-scale oil paintings are inspired by their experience growing up in the Mormon church, exploring repressed and recovered childhood memories surrounding faith.
Lopez is a painter and ceramic artist from El Paso who explores the intersections of a queer Chicanx identity and the experience of growing up in the border region using yarn and other textiles in their paintings and ceramic works. Rose, a sculptor raised in southern New Mexico, draws on ideas from science fiction and horror to create steel and ceramic sculptures that blur the line between a living thing and functional object.
"Where We Ended Up" and "Raw Perception" will be on display from May 1 to May 16 at the UAM inside Devasthali Hall, 1308 E. University Ave. The opening reception and exhibitions are free and open to the public. For more information, visit https://uam.nmsu.edu/.
The full article can be seen at https://newsroom.nmsu.edu/news/2026-bfa-and-mfa-thesis-exhibitions-to-open-at-nmsu-art-museum/s/3c2ad6b1-f876-4b48-8c29-1a3eccf0d64b
