Surface Tension

Eight School of Art graduate students will showcase their work in “Surface Tension” from Aug. 26 to Oct. 2 at the Lionel Rombach Gallery.

The exhibition features the work of Arshia Amin, Aubrey Behrens, Molly Etchberger, Steven Gray, Alexis Joy Hagestad, Angelica Jones, Porter Norton McDonald and Eden Squires.

Exhibition statement:

What is the boundary between one object and another? How do we distinguish between the viewer and the artist, or between the surface of an artwork and its inner workings? In an era defined by observation and diminishing privacy, these questions highlight a persistent tension in our lives. This exhibition explores the space in between where artwork exists as both subject and witness. 

This show is the culminating event of the Spring 2025 Interdisciplinary Graduate Critique Class (taught Assistant Professor of Practice Yana Payusova), bringing together a diverse range of practices that interrogate communication, facades, and their existence across psychological and geographic territories. Across media, the artists engage with themes of surveillance and exposure in a setting where boundaries are increasingly blurred. These works propose a deeper awareness of the spaces we occupy, the systems that mediate them, and the forces that shape our perceptions.