BFA Thesis Exhibition Highlights Dazzling Work by Graduating Seniors in School of Visual Arts
Four painting, sculpture, printmaking, and graphic design students talk about their projects. The show is on view at 808 Gallery through May 9
BFA Thesis Exhibition Highlights Dazzling Work by Graduating Seniors in School of Visual Arts
Four painting, sculpture, printmaking, and graphic design students talk about their projects
This article was originally published in BU Today on April 29, 2026. By BU Today staff. Photos by Cydney Scott
EXCERPT
Each year, graduating seniors in the College of Fine Arts School of Visual Arts’ painting, printmaking, sculpture, and graphic design programs take part in a group exhibition showcasing their thesis projects that represent the culmination of four years of hard work.
This year’s BFA thesis exhibition, on view at the 808 Gallery through May 9, features pieces by 37 students—21 majoring in graphic design, 11 in painting, 3 in sculpture, and 3 in printmaking. Their virtuosic work is a testament to their creativity, their mastery of different mediums, and the singular view that each brings to their art.
We asked four graduating BFA students to talk about their thesis projects. Read on to see what they have to say. And be sure to stop by the 808 Gallery to view the artwork of this year’s graduating seniors.
Mackenzie Jutras (CFA’26)
BFA Painting
My thesis project is a portrait of my friend, Mary Haddad. I always paint women, and I feel particularly connected and tender toward this piece, because this is someone I love and care about so much, and someone who has affected me so deeply. I’m really aware of where I’m showing my work and who will be seeing it, and I think that’s something that we talk about, but we never really get to play with; this is an opportunity for me to use art in the way I’ve been wanting to use it. You’re saying something with any kind of art that you make, whether it be a painting or drawing, anything—and I want to be really intentional about what I’m saying and whom I’m saying it to.
Truck Schachtman (CFA’26)
BFA Printmaking
I am kind of obsessed with the masculine body. I’m really interested in muscle and figure and curvature. I started as a figurative painter, and I took anatomy for the artist last semester, so I got to look at the actual buildup of how people are made and constructed. People are probably my favorite thing to draw and paint. So it felt natural to translate that to look at more moments where bodies are twisting and conversing with each other in a strange and warped way. Right now, I’m focusing on moments of connection and moments of stillness in the midst of violence—moments like mid-punch and mid-grapple, when bodies are connecting in their most physical way.
Nathan Arteaga (CFA’26)
BFA Sculpture
One of my biggest influences when it comes to making art is a collection of essays by Susan Sontag, Against Interpretation. In these essays, she talks about how, when viewing art, we need to spend less time trying to interpret the actual work, and more time understanding our experiences with the work. And I think that has become a point in my practice, of not wanting my work to be understood, because I think that that’s for me to understand. Once it leaves my studio, once it’s on public display, it is no longer mine. I want viewers to be able to reflect on their own interpretations and experiences with the piece.
Rye “Brian” Liu (CFA’26)
BFA Graphic Design
My work explores the systems we build within our everyday lives—routines, habits, and small patterns that often go unnoticed, but shape how we move through the world. This project developed through a branding lens, starting with logo design inspired by fluid and symmetrical forms. I created a series of identities based on the anatomy of a jellyfish. “Bell” represents structure and routine, while “Nema,” derived from the stinging cells, represents protection and response. Combined as “Bellum,” they reflect unpredictability, showing how even within similar structures, people experience and act in their own distinct ways.