CFA School of Visual Arts Annual Undergrad Thesis Exhibitions Now on View
Works by 66 graduating seniors in painting, sculpture, graphic design, and BA in art cohort showcase range of themes and materials
Light as Air, Heavy as Time, a project by Kelly Guo (CFA’25), invites viewers to interact with her work.
CFA School of Visual Arts Annual Undergrad Thesis Exhibitions Now on View
Works by 66 graduating seniors in painting, sculpture, graphic design, and BA in art cohort showcase range of themes and materials
This article was originally published in BU Today on May 6, 2025. By Sujena Soumyanath (COM’25) Photos by Jackie Ricciardi
Excerpt
Inside a brightly lit room in the College of Fine Arts last month, a group of senior painting majors stood together, surrounded by colorful canvases, paint-stained tables, and art supplies, an air of anticipation permeating the room. The students were waiting to find out when their works from the semester would receive their final critiques. Now, with critiques complete, the public can see many of those pieces on display in this year’s annual School of Visual Arts BFA thesis exhibition.
The show is on view at the 808 Gallery through May 10, and comprises work from this year’s painting, sculpture, and graphic design seniors. Across the street, students in the BA in Art program are presenting their thesis exhibitions at the College of Fine Arts Gallery 5. That show runs through May 16.
Painting
Seated inside her cozy sunlit studio leading up to this year’s undergraduate thesis exhibitions, Lauren Boysa (CAS’25, CFA’25) is surrounded by dried plants and her paintings inspired by the natural world. As she meticulously layers gesso on a panel, Boysa reflects on her artwork’s longtime connection to nature.
“I’m interested in creating space for conversation about the environment,” she says. “I don’t expect people to know exactly what I’m painting, but I want it to be reminiscent of the natural world, so that it can elicit memories in somebody about their connection to [it].”
Sculpture
This year’s Sculpture BFA Thesis Exhibition includes work by four seniors. Corinne Nichols (CFA’25) says that having such an intimate cohort has allowed the group to work closely together and “get very invested in each other’s artwork. We play off of each other a lot.”
A combination of found and synthetic materials, her sculptures mimic natural phenomena—whether that be decay, invasive species, or simply a twisting branch—while introducing an innovative element to their depiction.
Graphic Design
The playfulness and joy of childhood memories take center stage in graphic design student Kelly Guo’s (CFA’25) work. While her thesis project, titled Light as Air, Heavy as Time, nudges the viewer to consider vulnerable themes like forgotten dreams and unresolved emotions, there’s an undeniable gaiety in her pieces.
Much of that is due to the fact that her work is interactive, inviting viewers to describe their perfect Sunday or accomplish a short-term goal before the installation’s balloons deflate. It’s part of her focus on designing “experiences that people will remember forever” rather than fleetingly observed products, Guo says.
“What I want people to take away, mainly, is having a moment to relax and remember a part of themselves that they are close to forgetting,” she says.
BA in Art
Launched four years ago, CFA’s BA in Art program combines traditional studio arts courses with liberal arts research. Anita Emokpae (CFA’25) says the major allows for flexibility and “the opportunity to really form your own path.”
Emokpae’s work on display in this year’s BA in Art Thesis Exhibition draws on her Nigerian heritage, using fabric to explore ancestral memory and generational knowledge.
The BA in Art Thesis Exhibition also includes work by seven other graduating seniors. Together, the shows ask viewers to consider the ways art intersects with fields as varied as science, technology, and literature.