Two recent graduates showcased a couple of many unique, eye-catching art pieces at the annual Minds @ Work art exhibitions in May, but what patrons may not have fully seen is the fascinating life stories and experiences behind these works of art.
For their senior theses “(Un)Settled” and “The Good People,” Mackenzie Brent ’25 (Ceramics) and Brooke Pennington ’25 (Visual Arts), respectively, took inspiration from pivotal, profound life experiences and encounters, specifically related to places where they spent time growing up.
"Our senior theses are reflections of both our students' talents and what inspires them," said David Cavallaro, Department of Art summer chair. "They are displayed in opening receptions typically that attract hundreds of people, including family and friends of the artists, community members, faculty and administrators."
Pennington and Brent’s artistic journeys exemplify the impact of the Department of Art at SUNY New Paltz, which gives students a foundation to pursue their creativity in different mediums through different opportunities on and off-campus to showcase their talent.
“There’s so many avenues to pursue art no matter what you’re into,” said Brent. “Being at New Paltz allowed me to try different art forms and be a part of different showcases I may have not tried before.”
"(Un)Settled"
With her mixed media sculpture “(Un)Settled,” which was showcased at the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art’s Bachelor of Fine Arts spring 2025 thesis exhibition, Brent captures moments from moves around the New York tri-state area.
Having moved a lot due to her parents’ careers in firefighting and caretaking, Brent centered her thesis on three specific homes in her native New York – her childhood home, a house she lived in during the pandemic and the house she lives in now – all of which are in Pound Ridge but were significant in her life. Brent describes settling into these three homes as her most “abrupt, chaotic moves.”
She has wooden doorframes and ceramic cardboard boxes carrying meaningful objects such as her childhood teddy bear through three different door frames, representing what she carried with her both physically and emotionally each time.
“Each doorframe represents different time periods of my life and moments in which I shared with others, memories I made for myself and with family and friends,” she said. “Each of the boxes show the personal belongings I carried with me, and what I may have left behind.”
While Brent originally had a background in Ceramics, her studies as an art student allowed her to also explore the medium of Wood Design, which inspired her to include the wooden doorframes in her piece.
“It’s been rewarding to have these opportunities to challenge myself in different mediums, and since my piece showcases a mix of the personal objects I’ve had in my life, it made sense to have my installation at the Dorsky be rooted in mixed media,” she said.
Today, Brent is looking to bring all that she’s learned as a student artist in New Paltz to future generations, by pursuing a master’s degree in art education and working in both a clay art studio and a kid's art studio.
Her love for teaching stemmed from experiences as a teacher’s assistant in Ceramics classes for her faculty and mentors, adjunct faculty Lilly Zuckerman and Associate Professor Bryan Czibesz. She had opportunities to shadow both a ceramics sculpture course and a ceramics materials class in her senior year.
“It’s a nice culmination of both of my passions for teaching and creating,” she said. “I’m grateful for all my professors taught me.”
Click here for a look at Brent’s ceramic work via her Instagram @ceramicsbymack.
"The Good People"
With her installation, titled “The Good People,” Pennington curated a quirky, whimsical world based on memories of growing up in Greene County, New York, and encounters that left impressions on her. It was showcased at the spring 2025 Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Arts Visual Arts exhibition Visual Symphony.
“This was a brand I created for my art, based on people I’ve met and memories I’ve had from growing up in a small town,” she said.
One such example is a sculpture of a TV head that was inspired by the tattoo of a Greene County resident that caught Pennington’s eye.
“It remained in my head even when I enrolled in New Paltz,” she said, “and I kept drawing it in a print and a poster for different classes, which then led to my sculpture.”
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Pennington’s thesis also serves as a diary of sorts, capturing intrusive thoughts that both confound her and excite her. This is best exemplified by an eyeball that mirrors an ice cream scoop.
“I was scooping ice cream one day, enjoying myself, and then all of sudden I was frightened by the random idea that I could be scooping my own eyeball,” she said. “’The Good People’ is ultimately a reflection of the crazy thoughts that consume my head sometimes, but also the positive moments and memories that have stuck with me.”
Her installation at the Visual Symphony exhibition was especially influenced by a minor in Digital Design & Fabrication (DDF), a unique program combining engineering with design for a new era of manufacturing.
“I took a class, and it showed me that I could go beyond painting and drawing to create art,” she said. “It showed me that you can take what you’ve already created and make it 3D, which makes it more tangible.”
Through her DDF classes, Pennington molded creative, innovative designs while finding a community in the process.
“You become friends with everyone. You're all doing similar things and asking each other for advice on how to make your work better,” she said. “It’s a different, more hands-on experience from typical lecture courses.”
Pennington was so inspired by the hands-on experience she acquired from her DDF classes that she is now looking to pursue a career in the field, one of the most lucrative and fast-growing industries in the country right now.
“Being part of Digital Design and Fabrication has opened me to different connections, and now I’m looking to leverage those and see where it takes me,” she said.
Click here for a look at Pennington's portfolio, including the individual pieces that make "The Good People". Her work is also available on her Instagram @the.good.people.5.
For more information on the Department of Art at SUNY New Paltz, click here.
