Newsletter

Lisa Bagley ’84

Retired art educator Lisa Bagley ’84 (Art Education) exhibited her series "Hopes and Fears: My Diary of Cancer" at Morean Arts Center in St. Petersburg, Florida, from January through February 2025.

During Bagley's 2023 journey with cancer—from her diagnosis to treatment and recovery—she kept a journal as "a cathartic illustration of my experiences and mental struggles with life and mortality," she says. Her chronicles led to the creation of a multimedia art series, which was exhibited at Morean in conjunction with a fundraiser for Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida.

Sulo Bee ’22g

Sulo Bee ’22g (Metal) won the coveted Bavarian State Prize in the competition, Talente, at the International Handwork and Trades Exposition in Munich, Germany with their presentation of unique jewelry objects. They were also awarded the Artist-in-Residence position at NYC's Museum of Arts and Design. 

Learn more about Bee and their artist residency on the Museum of Arts and Design website, and see the museum's announcement about Bee on Facebook.

Eliana Cromling ’25

Eliana Cromling ’25 (Painting and Drawing) presented her Honors Program thesis "Liminal Territories: Interpreting the Inbetweenness of the Spaces We Inhabit" on May 7 in the Honors Center on campus. Cromling's thesis project was completed under the faculty advisement of Professor Kathy Goodell.

Owen Davies ’25

Owen Davies ’25 (Visual Arts Education) was one of 14 seniors to receive the 2025 President’s Award for Student Excellence, the highest recognition bestowed upon students by the University.

The campus-level honor created in 2021 recognizes New Paltz students who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in academics and in other areas of their collegiate careers. 

Erin Dougherty ’22 and Kaya Keller ’23

Erin Dougherty ’22 (Sculpture) and Kaya Keller ’23 (Visual Arts) were the recipients of the Midtown Kingston Arts District's (MKAD) annual Todd Samara Art Fund Award in January. According to the Kingston Wire, the pair won the $1,500 award "with the promise of creating and manning the Roadside Rat Museum, a mobile museum that's both intended to be shaped like a rat and also to exhibit rat-themed artwork."

Dougherty and Keller, both Kingston High School graduates, are former members of MKAD's Youth Workforce program (formerly known as Pop-Up Gallery Group), which is "a paid, out of school work-study program providing job training in art/non-profit management,  arts education, leadership, and entrepreneurship for Kingston High School students and recent alumni," according to MKAD.

Needless to say, we're eagerly awaiting the opening of this Roadside Rat Museum, and wish Dougherty and Keller the best of luck in getting it off the ground.

Lauren Fensterstock ’00g

Lauren Fensterstock ’00g (Metal) received a glowing review in the May/June 2025 issue of Sculpture magazine of her recent solo exhibition at Claire Oliver Gallery.

"I’m grateful for such a thoughtful vibrantly detailed piece of writing that brings the author’s own experience into the story," Fensterstock wrote on Instagram. "Having someone take the time really think through the work and build a rich personal response means everything to me."

Read the full review on Claire Oliver Gallery's website.

Audrey Francis ’06g

Audrey Francis ’06g (Painting & Drawing) is the recipient of the 2025 Hudson Valley Artists Purchase Award, as announced by the Dorsky Museum in April.

According to The Dorsky, the museum will acquire Francis’s “Witnesses (Leda)” (2021), an oil painting on canvas which was exhibited in the recent Hudson Valley Artists 2025: Movement exhibition.

Learn more about Francis and the Hudson Valley Artists Purchase Award on the SUNY New Paltz News website.

Catherine Heisler ’24 and Gillian Henderson ’25

Catherine Heisler ’24 (Art Education) and Gillian Henderson ’25 (Art Education) both presented projects at the Popular Culture Symposium—presented by the Social Justice Educational Studies and Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies programs—on May 2 in the Student Union Building.

On the topic of Pop Culture and Political Agendas, Heisler presented "Who Needs Equality When You Have Prophecy?" while Henderson presented "Economic Bubbles and the Artist: An Exploitation Story."

Additionally, Assistant Professor of Art Education Eunkyung Hwang participated in the faculty panel titled "Why Study Pop Culture?"

Chelsea Herzig ’22

The Art Effect recently announced that Chelsea Herzig ’22 (Ceramics/Visual Arts Education) will serve as its 2025 summer camp director. According to the Art Effect, Herzig—a visual arts educator for Kingston City School District—is currently pursuing her master's degree at Drexel University.

The Art Effect's Ulster Arts Camp will once again be hosted here at SUNY New Paltz from July 28-Aug. 1 and Aug. 4-8. The organization also offers Dutchess Arts Camp at Oakwood Friends School, which is taking place every week in July this summer.

Anna Kruse ’21g

Anna Kruse ’21g (Ceramics), who now works as an assistant professor of art in ceramics at Kent State University, was named an emerging artist of 2025 by Ceramics Monthly in the publication's May 2025 issue. Read the magazine's full interview with Kruse on the Ceramics Monthly website.

Kruse's work is also featured in the current exhibition "Plz Don't Mow" in Akron, Ohio, with an opening reception on May 16. Learn more on the artist's Instagram page.

Grace Lindenfelser ’25

Grace Lindenfelser ’25 (Printmaking) presented her Honors Program thesis, titled "Entangled Ways of Knowing: Reacquanting Humans with Nature," at the Honors Center on May 9. Lindenfelser completed her thesis under the faculty advisement of Assistant Professor Aurora De Armendi Sobrino and Instructional Support Technician Kate Collyer.

Karen “Koyoltzintli” Miranda-Rivadeneira ’22g

The work of Karen “Koyoltzintli” Miranda-Rivadeneira ’22g (Photography & Related Media) was recently featured in the International Center for Photography's exhibition, "To Conjure: New Archives in Recent Photography," from January to May in NYC. According to the ICP, the exhibition "reimagines what an archive can be or might look like—more than just a means of recuperating the past, these artists utilize the archive as a form for imagining new futures."

Learn more about the exhibition on the ICP's website.

Maedeh Ojaghloo ’24g

Maedeh Ojaghloo ’24g (Photography and Related Media) presented and discussed her recent project and MFA exhibition, "Beyond Shattered Honor," at the Center for Photography at Woodstock's monthly "Meet the Artist Night" in October 2024. Read more about the event and learn more about Ojaghloo on CPW's website.

Ojaghloo also presented her solo exhibition, "Unseen Light," in February 2025 at the Art Centro in Poughkeepsie, NY.

Carolann Paszek ’25

Carolann Paszek ’25 (Sculpture) presented research on the Eco Art Lab and Natural Dye Garden as part of the Student Research Symposium on May 2. Paszek's poster, titled "Seeding Sustainable Futures in the Eco Art Lab and Natural Dye Garden," details the experience of organizing community engagement events to seed the garden and cultivating volunteers for the Eco Art Lab planting.

"We found that integrating fun, familiar aesthetics into our event designs and providing nourishment sparked community interest in important ecological discussions," wrote Paszek, who was also named a spring 2025 recipient of the Academic Year Undergraduate Research Experience award. "This project shows that small actions—like planting a seed—can inspire lasting change and nurture a culture of sustainability."

Eco Art Lab hosts Planting Party

The faculty and students behind the creation of the Department of Art's new Eco Art Lab and Natural Dye Garden invited the campus to a planting party on Tuesday, May 6 and Wednesday, May 7, with an opening celebration held at the conclusion of the planting parties on May 7. Refreshments and tools were provided to participants.

These vibrant learning labs—located just outside the Fine Arts Building Sculpture Studio—are spaces to grow natural art materials, explore biodiversity, and engage in embodied ecological research. Designed by the Eco Art Class with the mentorship of sculpture professor Emily Puthoff, and shaped by the insights of many campus stakeholders, the Eco Art Lab is an emergent learning lab rooted in reciprocity, creativity, and interconnection.

Congratulations to all the students who helped make these living learning labs a reality: James Biordi ’25 (Sculpture), Ripley Butterfield ’26 (Contract), Tierney O'Brien​ ’26 (Sculpture), Risa Oshinsky ’26 (Sculpture), Carolann Paszek ’25 (Visual Arts), Deminica Richard​ ’25 (Visual Arts/Art Education), Abigail Schwab ’25 (Visual Arts), Grace Van Pelt ’25 (Visual Arts), Mars Weigley ’25 (Sculpture)​, Caelen Williams ’25, Adam Holland ’25g (Sculpture).

Art Faculty, Alumni Featured in Nexus Show

Printmaking Faculty, Students Attend Conference in Puerto Rico

Printmaking students (Cole Solis Jativa ’25g, Grace Lindenfelser ’25, Beth Itzla ’25, Halla Rhode ’25, and Cris Signoretti ’27) and faculty (Instructional Support Technician Kate Collyer and Visiting Assistant Professor Emilie Houssart) traveled to San Juan, Puerto Rico in April for the Southern Graphics Council International Printmaking Conference.

During the conference, the students participated in an international print exchange and open portfolio sessions. Additionally, Collyer presented a lecture, "Footprints & Imprints," which introduced Collyer's current research into participatory projects, printmaking, and walking as art practice. The lecture, in which Collyer also presented new work in paper and glass, was part of the conference's "Wind Whispers" panel. See the recording of Collyer's lecture on her website.

Check out more photos from the trip on Printmaking's Instagram page.

BFA & MFA students present thesis exhibitions

Congratulations to all the graduating BFA and MFA students who presented their thesis exhibitions at the Dorsky at the end of the spring semester!

Serving as the culmination of the BFA/MFA student experience, thesis exhibits offer a valuable opportunity for students to display the work they've been diligently shaping, refining, and perfecting during their time at New Paltz. Students collaborate with each other, as well as with faculty and museum staff, to plan the exhibitions, and then work to design and install their own work. The show is more than just a collection of final art projects: It's a chance for the campus community to celebrate our student artists' accomplishments, revel in their work, and send them off to their future creative endeavors with a truly special experience to remember.

BFA I, which opened April 25, featured Julia Barbour ’25 (Painting and Drawing), Adell Coe ’25 (Art Education/Painting and Drawing), Jackie Conley ’25 (Painting and Drawing), Jeff Healy ’25 (Painting and Drawing), Logan Johnson ’25 (Photography), Julianna Lorenz ’25 (Art Education/Ceramics), Eddie Mangione ’25 (Photography), Emma McGrath ’25 (Ceramics), Jangir Qayum ’25 (Photography), Bill Reed ’25 (Painting and Drawing), Alexander Tonetti ’25 (Ceramics), and Amanda Vogl ’25 (Ceramics).

BFA II, which opened May 2, featured Mackenzie Brent ’25 (Ceramics), George Burkett III ’25 (Painting and Drawing), Ellie Cromling ’25 (Painting and Drawing), Minh Đoàn ’25 (Painting and Drawing), Michael Paul Hauck ’25 (Art Education/Ceramics), Christine Liao ’25 (Ceramics), Grace Lindenfelser ’25 (Printmaking), Lili Noah ’25 (Art Education/Ceramics), Jolie Orbeta ’25 (Painting and Drawing), Sarah Prohens ’25 (Photography), Caelen Williams ’25 (Sculpture), Xiaohan Wu ’25 (Metal), and Aryeh Zanan ’25.

MFA II, which opened May 9, featured Emma Bailie ’25g (Painting and Drawing), Ava Hricisak ’25g (Sculpture), Emilie Kim ’25g (Ceramics), Maryellen Mahar ’25g (Painting and Drawing), Chrystalynn O'Boyle ’25g (Ceramics), Roberto Rossi ’25g (Printmaking), and Maggie Seinfeld ’25g (Photography and Related Media).

MFA II, which opened May 16, featured Philip Adams ’25g (Ceramics), Talula Baer ’25g (Metal), Estuardo Bonilla ’25g (Painting and Drawing), Erica Compton ’25g (metal), Siyu Dong ’25g (Metal), Edgar Hartley ’25g (Printmaking), Mary Jane Nusbaum ’25g (Printmaking), and Derek Lopez Vergara ’25g (Printmaking).

BS/BA in Visual Arts Seniors Present "Visual Symphony"

Graduating seniors in the BA and BS in Visual Arts programs presented their final exhibition, "Visual Symphony," at the Fine Arts Building at the end of April. An opening reception was held on May 2.

Congratulations to all the seniors who participated: Nicole Betemit ’25, Samantha Bosaz ’25, Ryan Brown ’25, Kiersten Barkstorm ’25, Paul Castner ’25, Karlie Diaz Del Valle ’25, Louie Dorazio ’25, Joshua Edwards ’25, Rosemary Gonzalez ’25, Gwendolyn Grimes ’25, Kelli Karlin ’25, Jessica Kiesel ’25, Heather Rose Kuhn ’25, Nicholas LaRocca ’25, Riley Mahoney ’25, Emma Nelk ’25, Samantha Ondreicka ’25, Sabrina O'Shea ’25, Brooke Pennington ’25, Sara Perez ’25, Lex Perkins ’25, Natasha Renud ’25, Gianna Roggio ’25, Jamie Setterstrom ’25, Traver Smith ’25, Jahda Williams ’25, and Ruby Zuckerman ’25.

Meet the artists and see their work on Instagram!

Art students named Outstanding Graduates

Several Department of Art students were named Outstanding Graduates by the President's Office for the 2024-25 academic year.

“This group has not only accomplished the completion of the expectations, but have excelled in critical areas,” said President Darrell P. Wheeler. “You are to be applauded for the accomplishments that you’ve made in your discipline, for the impression that you’ve made on your faculty and staff and your colleagues and for the impact that you stand prepared to make as you go forward beyond your time as an undergraduate.” 

Congratulations to Grace Lindenfelser (Printmaking), Emma McGrath (Ceramics), Joseph Cartolano (Visual Arts Education), Jaidyn Haywood (Visual Arts), Sophia Bon (Printmaking), Jolie Orbeta (Painting and Drawing), Katharine Asenbauer (Visual Arts Education), Owen Davies (Visual Arts Education), Daniel Loxton (Painting and Drawing), Emilie Kim (Ceramics), Nguyen Minh Doan (Painting and Drawing), and Samantha Bosaz (Visual Arts).