The first of three MFA Thesis Exhibitions features the work of Joyce Bingeman, Patricia Davis, and Meryl Engler. A closing reception will be held April 8 from 5-7 p.m. in Eisentrager•Howard Gallery.

Gallery hours for the MFA Thesis Exhibitions are Monday-Friday, 12:30-4:30 p.m. Admission to the gallery is free and open to the public.

Bingeman’s exhibition is titled “Insight: An Invitation.” Originally from Rhode Island, Bingeman received her B.A. in studio arts from Houghton College in western New York. She has been a studio intern at the Women’s Studio Workshop and an artist in residence at The Center at Eagle Hill. She is a printmaker interested in social practice and art that involves interaction. In her artist statement, she writes, “A few years ago, my mother spent her evenings painting a sketchbook titled ‘Insight’ for me. In an act of generosity, laboring with cheap paints, she would flip a page, paint and wait for it to dry. My works on paper incorporate elements from her actions including screen printed text, painting of the text and text on the back. At my installation, the viewer is ushered into a sanctum space through an aesthetically changed vestibule and offered an invitation: to sit on a bench in exchange for one of the pages on the wall. The exchange is a form of generosity and a chance to participate in an event guided by intuition or insight.”

Davis’ exhibition is titled “Don’t Worry.” She is originally from Plash Island, a tiny fishing village nestled on Oyster Bay, near Gulf Shores, Alabama. She received her B.F.A. in printmaking and sculpture from the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. She works in a variety of media including drawing, printmaking, painting, artist’s books and sculpture. In her exhibition, Davis creates an experience that is seductive and unsettling. These mixed media works on paper focus on fears of the known and unknown that surround the physical and psychological experiences of being in a body. Looking closely is the key. At casual glance, these works on paper are simple and direct. But like entering a darkened room, the eyes need to adjust and re-adjust on each work. Then one notices the surfaces that are rich in nuance are simultaneously visual and physical.

Engler’s exhibition is titled “Ripple, Surge, Release.” Engler grew up on the beaches in Southern California in Huntington Beach and has always felt a strong connection to the ocean. She received a B.F.A. in sculpture with a double major in religion and a minor in history at Syracuse University. She draws upon her studies in religious theory and history in her abstract work by focusing on certain states of mind and almost ritualistic movements. She was also on the Syracuse Women’s Rowing team. The movement, energy and physical exertion of athletics is also vital in her work. She has exhibited across the U.S. and participated in the Student International Print Show in El Menia, Egypt. In her artist statement, she writes, “The twisting lines and giant brush strokes are pure energy, the most direct implementation of my gesture. The work evolves in stages of action; my action of painting the stroke, then solidifying the energy through carving, cutting, and printing, giving the stroke a concrete form that is the residue of energy that first created it.”