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MFA class of 2018 debuts final work with "Versus"

Versus
Allison Coleman, American, born 1977: Pine-Sol, 2017, oil on panel, 24 x 48 inches. Collection of the artist.

The UNC Masters of Fine Arts Class of 2018 is set to display their selected works under the theme “Versus” at the Ackland Art Museum. "Versus" will start Thursday, April 19 with an opening celebration from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. The exhibit will be on display until May 13.  

The theme of “Versus” explores a lot of different material, such as the different battles that all people face while going through their daily lives or the tensions that artists go through while trying to produce their own work. 

“For each one of us individually, 'Versus' takes on many meanings,” Sara Farrington, one of the MFA students whose work will be on display, said.

This exhibition provides variety in the types of art that is allows for audiences to see — from more traditional outlets to more abstract concepts. 

The Ackland hosts many exhibits year-round to show unique things that have been produced both on campus and far away. The museum gives students and those in the community a chance to experience different types of art forms.  

For this collection, Farrington is showing her piece that uses paper sculpture to show the inside of a modern American living room. 

“All of these works are made of paper so they are inherently fragile and impermanent, and are trying to take on qualities of the materials they are trying to be," Farrington said. "It’s pretty obvious they are failing."

She is demonstrating the “versus” that happens as people try to achieve comfort in a nice house with nice things, while also trying to hold on to the less tangible things that are also of importance. 

One of the unique things about "Versus" is how it brings all of the artist’s work together under one theme – but harnesses their individuality and uniqueness. 

“This gets to be the highlight that we all get to share together as a cohort,” Farrington said. 

Kimberly English, another MFA student displaying her work, is displaying a piece that focuses on the tensions between "hand-versus-machine" and "local-versus-international."

“Some pieces are really political," English said. "Some are truly just about form and object being contradicted.”

The variety of the pieces opens up the doors to anyone who is interested in the topic.

Carley Zarzeka, another one of the MFA students whose work will be displayed, said that this program reinforced things she had begun to think about, but did not know how to demonstrate. 

“I think it’s a great display of the growth of the program itself — and to show the strength of the work that is being produced,” Zarzeka said. “The theme of 'Versus' is something we come in contact with every single day.”

This is an exhibition for anybody who is interested in different forms of art or who is looking for ways to expand their mind. 

“Since the start of the program this has been the kind of bookend, the end of the road," Farrington said. "We knew that this would happen. It is like the highlight of the end. It has been really great to be shown in a real museum." 

@alliebecca

arts@dailytarheel.com

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