UNLV department of art presents the BFA 2024 Midway Exhibition, You Are Here: 36°06'31.5"N 115°08'18"W, Nov. 18 - Dec. 6 in the Grant Hall Gallery. The exhibition features the art of 11 student artists pursuing their Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at UNLV. Halfway through the journey to presenting their thesis exhibition, these artists invite the public to see the art they are currently producing. The show features drawing, painting, photography, photo-based mixed media, assemblage, sculpture, and video.
An opening reception will be held 5 - 9 p.m., Friday. Nov. 22. The reception and exhibition are free and open to the public.
Artists include Nuni Allen, Justyn Aqui, Aimee Coello, Camile Lovaz, Rose Miller, Niko Navalta, Rosina Nieves, Jessica Samaniego, Bella Sanabria, Montaysia Yuneek, and Arianna Zaremehrjardi. Gallery hours are Mondays-Fridays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
About the Artists
Nuni Allen uses photography to create poetic imagery that explores different narratives. Her work showcases self-reflection, empowerment, and storytelling, while creating and reimagining spaces. She applies the female gaze to her work to highlight beauty, pain, love, masculinity, femininity, and ethnicity.
Justyn Aqui primarily uses oil paints and soft pastels to create art that focuses on color and movement. His work ranges from naturalistic landscapes to abstraction, and explores ideas of beauty in both an aesthetic and non-aesthetic sense, identity (or lack of), and the human condition.
Aimee Coello uses acrylic paint and illustration techniques to bring dreamlike realms to life on both 2D and 3D surfaces. She is inspired by the concept of surrealist aesthetics, along with low-quality imagery. Her art creates feelings of confusion, disorientation, alienation, dread, nostalgia, the existence of alternate universes, and the idea of being reborn in multiple realities.
Camile Lovaz uses oil paint, ink, charcoal, and digital programs to make work that engages with the icons and imagery of her Mexican-American culture. Her art reflects the beauty of her culture, and frequently encompasses current events.
Rose Miller makes collage-based work that examines the gaze. Her art confronts both the artist and the viewer, and engages with their roles in the consumption of art.
Niko Navalta is a mixed media artist who explores their identity through painting, drawing, and zine-making. He uses animal imagery to discuss his experiences growing up as a gender-nonconforming person and healing from religious trauma.
Rosina Nieves is a Chicana photographer who explores her culture through her work. She incorporates her identity into her photography through the manipulation and altering of her photos with fabrics, embroidery and cultural items.
Jessica Samaniego’s work reflects her experiences and emotions as part of a Latino family. She uses vibrant colors to express feelings and self-discovery. Catholic imagery, butterflies, and family are key subjects in her work, representing personal growth and cultural roots.
Bella Sanabria’s work reflects her identity as a Paraguayan-American immigrant. Using imagery and symbols, she explores ideas of loneliness and cultural belonging. Her art focuses on the tension between belonging and alienation in the immigrant experience.
Montaysia Yuneek uses painting and drawing to critically explore the construct of Black identity in America. Her work engages with themes of ancestry, homage, pop culture, and commodification, offering commentary on the cultural and historical forces shaping Blackness.
Arianna Zaremehrjardi paints portraits of calm and sullen subjects with faces featuring unnatural textures and erratic movement. Her work reflects her fascination with horror, bodily imperfection, and ambiguity.
About the UNLV College of Fine Arts
The College of Fine Arts educates, empowers, and engages creative people to become visionary change-makers in the arts through acts of imagination. At UNLV we believe the arts are an essential good for society. We make education relevant and accessible through our programs and outreach. We create new knowledge in the arts. We celebrate independent thought and the power of bringing people together to foster creativity.
