The University of Alabama’s Department of Art and Art History presents the 2022 Senior BFA Thesis Exhibition, May 3-7, 2022, in the Sella-Granata Art Gallery, in Woods Hall on UA campus. In this exhibition, seven seniors whose primary concentrations are painting or digital media unveil their final thesis work in order to fulfill the requirements of the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. The public is invited to a reception Thursday, May 5, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Masks are welcomed but not required in the Sella-Granata Art Gallery.
About the Exhibitors
Emily Bookmiller, from Lancaster, New York, has a primary concentration in painting, a secondary concentration in drawing and a Blount Scholars Program minor. Bookmiller has been named the 2022 Outstanding Undergraduate Student in Studio Art, the most prestigious award the department gives. She has illustrated stories for first- through third-grade readers in the statewide literacy program, Reading Allies, and co-organized an exhibition as part of Albright-Knox Art Gallery’s Future Curators Program. For the academic year 2021-22, Bookmiller was awarded the Carolyn Haddon “Julie” Matthews Memorial Endowed Scholarship, the Myra and Jim Morgan Endowed Scholarship and an Allentown Art Festival Scholarship. In 2020-21, she was awarded the Windgate Charitable Foundation Endowed Studio Arts Scholarship; in 2019-20, the Bradley Endowed Scholarship in Art; and in 2018-19, the Ruth King Larcom Art Scholarship and an Allentown Art Festival Scholarship. Bookmiller is on Instagram.
Kayla Compton, from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, has a primary concentration in digital media and a secondary one in photography. She currently produces designs for Wagner’s Team Sports, where she serves as a graphic design intern. She was awarded the Carolyn Haddon “Julie” Matthews Memorial Endowed Scholarship at UA. At Shelton State Community College, Compton earned an associate’s degree in art in 2019, awarded a Fine Arts Scholarship both years and graduated summa cum laude. Her website is here.
Cooper Hall, from Savannah Georgia, has a primary concentration in painting and a secondary concentration in drawing. She writes that her work in this show, titled “Comprehending Color,” “reflects my experience with dyslexia. From my lack of control over essential skills, I create a controlled environment using color in a repetitive, hard-edge composition in an attempt to make sense of the world around me.” Hall is on Instagram.
Jocelyn Licwinko, from West Chester, Pennsylvania, has a primary concentration in painting and a secondary concentration in printmaking, with a minor in German. Licwinko has served as a gallery guard at the Sarah Moody Gallery of Art for three years. She received the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant in December of 2021, which has financially supported her final semester at the University of Alabama and her BFA exhibition. In previous semesters, Licwinko received the Windgate Charitable Foundation Endowed Studio Arts Scholarship, Farley Moody Galbraith Endowed Scholarship, and the Vernon and Eugenia Otwell Rutledge Endowed Scholarship. Her website is here and she is on Instagram.
Hailie Thomas, from Mahomet, Illinois, has a primary concentration in painting and a secondary concentration in digital media. Thomas was awarded the Vernon Rutledge and Eugenia Otwell Rutledge Endowed Scholarship in 2021. Her BFA work, titled “Paralysis of the Mind,” she writes “consists of my experiences with sleep paralysis and hallucinations.” Inspired by artists such as Bambou Gili, Inka Essenhigh and Jia Aili and how they create “unique almost bizarre scenes beyond every day life,” she writes, “I focus on them not only for their characters and use of brushstrokes but also for the use of colors. The materials I use are acrylic on canvas with a mix of solid-to-wash brushstrokes to create the idea of a dream-like setting.” Thomas is on Instagram.
Natalie Vizzina, from Birmingham, Alabama, has a primary concentration in digital media and a secondary concentration in sculpture. About her work, Vizzina writes that each piece she creates “contain[s] [its] own sense of growth and change as the piece evolves. The finished pieces are hardly ever what I originally had in my mind to create. This process in itself allows me to stay connected to the themes of growth and change: that the future is unpredictable, but the ‘through process’ is where we find ourselves.” Vizzina has held web design and development positions at FRED Communication by Design in 2018 and 2020. She was awarded the Marilyn Williams Elmore Endowed Art Scholarship and the Angelo Granata Endowed Scholarship and made the President’s List in spring 2021 and 2020, as well as the Dean’s List in fall 2021, fall 2020, and spring and fall 2019. Vizzina is on Instagram.
Hannah Warner, from Tuscaloosa, has a primary concentration in digital media and a secondary concentration in sculpture. Her exhibition, “Portals,” she writes, “is inspired by the calming effects of the sky. I hope to help the viewer step out of their mind and into the work as a reminder to be present.” Warner is a double major: her second major is in business with a concentration in marketing. She has served two internships in sculpture, one with artist Caleb O’Connor and one with artist Steve Davis of Sunheart Metalworks, and an internship in which she assisted artist Lorrie Lane in marketing and graphic design. Warner has been accepted to an NES Artist Residency in Skagaströnd, Iceland, in the fall. She is on Instagram.
Gallery hours are Monday 9:00 am – 7:00 pm; Tuesday 11:00 pm – 7:00 pm; Wednesday 9:00 am – 7:00 pm; Thursday 11:00-7:00 pm; and Friday 9:00 am – 1:00 pm, during the spring semester when school is in session.
The SGAG is a vital learning resource for the department and an essential part of the education and development of UA students and our community. The gallery is run by a committee of faculty, staff and students, and supported by student workers. Visitors are not required but are encouraged to wear face coverings inside the gallery. Funding support for the gallery comes from the Department of Art and Art History and the College of Arts and Sciences. For more information, go to the gallery’s webpage.
Information about visitor parking is available on the UA parking services website. For more information, contact the gallery at (205) 348-1893.
To find out more about The University of Alabama’s programs in studio art and art history, visit our Degree Programs page.