2025 News & Announcements

September 2025

Praise for Professor's Publication

Dr. Dow receives positive reviews for his book Bernardino Poccetti and the Art of Religious Painting at the End of the Florentine Renaissance. The reviews in "The Burlington Magazine" and in "Renaissance Quarterly" both reflect on Dr. Dow's book as a long overdue study of an important fresco painter. As an Art Historian in K-State's Department of Art, Dr. Dow focuses on art and religious reform in sixteenth century Italy.

May 2025

East Goes West: Works on Paper | By K-State University Students

Exhibition Dates: April 23 – May 25, 2025

Experience the dynamic creativity of Kansas State University’s emerging artists in East Goes West, a curated pop-up exhibition at the Salina Art Center. Showcasing works on paper from drawing and printmaking students of the 2024–2025 academic year, this collection highlights personal projects developed through self-directed inquiry. From evocative landscapes to bold abstractions, these pieces reflect the students’ exploration of materials, techniques, and conceptual frameworks. Witness the next generation of artists as they refine their voices and push the boundaries of drawing and printmaking.

April 2025

The Department of Art hosts BFA Student Exhibition

Join us for the first BFA Exhibition of the spring semester at the Mark A. Chapman Gallery, featuring stunning works by student artists Josh Adee, Jonas Herrera, Augustus Howard, Joseph Hwang, Jack Swearingen, and Logan Zimmerman.

April 28 – May 2, 2025
Gallery Hours: 8 AM – 5 PM (Mon–Fri)
Willard Hall, First Floor, Kansas State University
Reception: Friday, May 2, 5–7 PM – meet the artists!

From personal stories of loss and identity to reflections on rural life and urban solitude, this powerful collection explores diverse themes through photography, painting, and multimedia. Admission is free and open to the public—come support emerging artists!

March 2025

February 2025

MFA Grad Student Group Exhibition

Exhibit Location: Manhattan Arts Center

Exhibit Dates: February 11 - March 7, 2025
Meet the Artist Reception: Friday, February 28, 5-7 pm

This exhibition showcases the work of the K-State Art Department's Masters of Fine Arts candidates. The event offers a unique opportunity to experience a diverse collection of artistic expressions from the following artists:

• Gabriel Dwomoh
• Maddison Edwards
• Danielle Fisher
• Maryam Ghasempour
• Aaron Joel Stefan
• Ariana Swann

"Buy Our Selves"

The KSU Art Department is excited to announce the opening of the "Buy Our Selves" ceramics show, featuring the work of our Artist in Residence, Spencer Cheek.

Exhibition Dates: February 17th - March 7th

Location: Chapman Gallery

Closing reception: 6-8pm on the March 7^th

This thought-provoking exhibit explores themes of identity, consumerism, and the human form through Spencer Cheek’s unique ceramic works. It offers an opportunity to engage with powerful reflections on contemporary culture.

Join us in celebrating the creativity and vision of the KSU ceramics community!
We look forward to seeing you there!

January 2025

Art Department Students Receive Research Awards

The Art Department is excited to announce that three of our undergraduate students have each received $1,000 from the College of Arts and Sciences for the Spring 2025 semester to conduct faculty-mentored research projects. Forty-four students total in the College of Arts and Sciences received this scholarship, and you can read more about all the students involved in K-State Today's Publication.

Senior in studio art, Michael Kohler, is working with mentor Jason Scuilla on improving Electro Etching processes for printmaking. Specifically, Michael intends to improve the current ground used by experimenting with different methods and materials to make the ground more visible without the need to smoke it. Electro Etching is a new and innovative approach to traditional etching techniques in printmaking. Both electro and traditional methods utilize copper plates to create and print images, but where artists traditionally used solvents and acid to work the copper, Electro Etching uses non-toxic materials and electricity to achieve the same goals. For more information on Electro Etching, check out the NEA Research Project.

Layne McAfee is a senior in studio art working with mentors Kevin Bernstein and Nancy Morrow. For her project, Layne will analyze the social and economic benefits of artist residencies in rural communities. Layne will then use her research to construct a business model for communities that would like to create resident opportunities in their own towns. Layne will draw on her experience and connections as a student fellow for Nature Collab, which “is a joint initiative between the Departments of Art and Entomology that recognizes the intrinsic, interconnectedness between the fields of art, design, the sciences, and mathematics and aims to foster, enhance, and facilitate the interdisciplinary study of nature” (naturecollab.org).

As a sophomore in studio art, Sydney Barge says she will investigate how artists and scholars incorporate the visual arts with ecological themes and artifacts through their different pathways with mentorship from Nancy Morrow. Sydney’s research will explore how individuals use various methods and processes to secure successfully funded careers and opportunities. Sydney points out that the information she gathers will be meaningful to share with students and other people in the field because it will highlight and connect them with important opportunities. Sydney will also use her experience with Nature Collab as a member of the Curatorial Team. Find more information on Nature Collab about our students’ involvement.

KSU Art Department Proudly Recognizes Grad Student

The KSU Department of Art is proud to recognize the accomplishments of graduate student Maryam Ghasempour, who recently completed an artist residency at the Bunnell Art Center in Homer, Alaska, from December 31 to January 13. This residency was supported by the Alaska State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. During her time in Alaska, Maryam taught two printmaking workshops at Kachemak Bay College—one on monotype techniques and another on linoleum cut. She also gave two presentations to the local community.

Additionally, Maryam has been featured in two prestigious exhibitions:

1. Positive/Negative 40 National Juried Art Exhibition: Her piece "Bound Yet Free" was selected by juror Nandini Makrandi, Chief Curator at the Hunter Museum of American Art, from 124 submissions across the nation.
2. 2025 SPE Members Exhibition: Two of her works, "Lost and Becoming" and "Bound Yet Free", were selected for the exhibition at Sierra Arts in Reno, Nevada, running from March 3 to 26, 2025. The juror for this show is C. Rose Smith, Assistant Curator of Photography at the Brooks Museum of Art.

Congrats to Maryam for these incredible accomplishments!

Art Alum Featured in K-State Alumni Association News

In this article, Allison Bowman discusses her K-State experience as well as her latest projects. She graduated from K-State in 2017 with a BFA in Painting, but explains that she learned and currently utilizes a variety of media in her work. Additionally, Bowman shares about her community projects and how her art draws attention to the native Kansas prarie.

Full article: https://www.k-state.com/news/2024allisonbowman.php