The University of Alabama Department of Art and Art History presents the 2023 BFA Studio Art Senior Thesis Show, May 3-6, 2023, in the Sella-Granata Art Gallery, Woods Hall on UA campus. In this exhibition, nine seniors present their final thesis work in fulfillment of the degree requirements of the Bachelor of Fine Arts in studio art. The public is invited to a reception on Thursday, May 4 from 4:00-6:00 p.m. in the gallery.
The exhibitors are, by area: Digital media: Sylvia Cervino, Ryan Glantz, Brylane Hay, Autumn Darah Williams; Ceramics: Hannah Willis; Painting: Liv Komisar, Mackenna Overholt, Liza Reid Smith, Ella Smyth. Scroll down to see all the artists’ exhibition showcards.
Sylvia Cervino, whose primary concentration is digital media, with a secondary one in painting, and a minor in anthropology, is from Tuscaloosa. Cervino was part of the four-person show, Gorgas Library Student Artwork Exhibition, in October of 2022, and made the President’s List in fall 2022. She received the 2021-22 Julie Peake Holaday Memorial Endowed Scholarship and the Carol B. Merkle Endowed Scholarship. Follow Sylvia Cervino on Instagram @dysiswitch.
Autumn Darah Williams, whose primary concentration is digital media with a secondary one in painting, is a Prattville native. Williams, who serves as chief graphics editor for the Crimson White, made the fall 2022 Dean’s List. As an art major, she received the Myra and Jim Morgan Endowed Scholarship and the Farley Moody Galbraith Endowed Scholarship. Autumn Darah Williams’s website is here and she is on Instagram @darrahea.
Ryan Glantz, whose primary concentration is digital media, with a secondary one in drawing, is from Pittsford, New York. Glantz made the President’s List in fall 2022. Follow Ryan Glantz on Instagram @moonlight_miiko.
Sylacauga native Brylane Hay, whose primary concentration is digital media, with a secondary one in drawing, has a minor in creative media. Hay made the President’s List in fall 2022. While in the department she received the Angelo Granata Endowed Scholarship, the Mary M. Morgan Memorial Art Scholarship Fund, the Granata Endowed Scholarship, and the Windgate Charitable Foundation Endowed Studio Arts Scholarship. Find Brylane Hay here and on Instagram @b_doesart.
Liv Komisar, whose primary concentration is painting, with a secondary one in digital media, and a minor in the Blount Scholars program, hails from Indian Springs, Alabama. Komisar’s work was juried into the Tennessee Collegiate Art Competition 2023, Middle Tennessee State University, and the Alabama Artist: Roots and Wings, at ArtsRevive Cultural Arts Center, Selma, Alabama. She was included in the four-person show, Gorgas Library Student Artwork Exhibition at UA in October of 2022. She has served as a gallery assistant in the Paul R. Jones Museum and made the President’s List in fall 2022. Liv Komisar’s art website is here.
Mackenna Overholt, whose primary concentration is painting, with a secondary one in drawing, and a minor in art history, is from Golden, Colorado. Overholt is the designated artist for the UA Student Government Association Presidential Portraits, creating oil paintings of current and recent SGA presidents. She was part of the four-person show, Gorgas Library Student Artwork Exhibition and made the President’s List in fall 2022. As a major, Overholt received the Marilyn Williams Elmore Endowed Art Scholarship, the Windgate Charitable Foundation Endowed Studio Arts Scholarship, the Art Students Endowed Scholarship Fund and the Farley Moody Galbraith Endowed Scholarship. In 2022, she served as a sales associate at Altitude Gallery in Bozeman, Montana, and the Gorgas Library exhibition coordinator at UA. Find Mackenna Overholt on Instagram @mackennaoverholtfineart or on her website.
Liza Reid Smith, from Louisville, Kentucky, is a double major in the BFA in studio art program and in public relations. Her primary concentration in the BFA is painting, with a secondary concentration in digital media. Smith minors in Chinese. While in the department, Smith received the Bradley Endowed Scholarship Fund, the Mary M. Morgan Memorial Art Scholarship Fund, the Carol B. Merkle Endowed Scholarship, and the Windgate Charitable Foundation Endowed Studio Arts Scholarship. She made the President’s List in fall 2022. Find Liza Reid Smith on Instagram @lizareidart.
Prattville native Ella Smyth, whose primary concentration is painting with a secondary one in drawing, won the department’s 2022-2023 Outstanding Undergraduate Award in Studio Art. She serves as the lead gallery worker in the Sella-Granata Art Gallery and has served as an education intern at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts. Smyth was part of the four-person show, Gorgas Library Student Artwork Exhibition, and the West Alabama Juried Show in 2022, and the Bellwhethers 2021 Juried Exhibition at the University of Tennessee at Martin. Between 2019 and 2022, Smyth received the Mary M. Morgan Art Scholarship, the Julie Peake Holaday Memorial Endowed Scholarship, the Farley Moody Galbraith Endowed Scholarship, and the Elizabeth B. Bashinsky Art Scholarship. She made the Dean’s List in 2021 and the President’s List in 2019, 2020, and 2022. Smyth is on Instagram as @ellassmyth and her website is here.
Hannah Willis, whose primary concentration is ceramics with a secondary one in sculpture, is a native of Bedford, Virginia. Willis serves as a gallery assistant in the Paul R. Jones Museum and The University of Alabama Gallery and made the Dean’s List in fall 2022. Also in 2022, she was awarded a scholarship in support of a summer arts residency with sculptor Jeffery Meris at the Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village, Colorado. She will serve as an intern with the children’s program at Anderson Ranch in May. Willis has been a volunteer facilitator for ceramics with the UA LEAP (Leaders Exploring Academic Possibilities) Program for two summers, and her work was part of “Southern Synergy,” a teacher/student exhibition at the 38th Annual Alabama Clay Conference, Auburn in 2022. Willis received the Windgate Charitable Foundation Endowed Studio Arts Scholarship for the 2021-2022 school year. Find Hannah Willis on Instagram @hannah_bydesign.
The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art is the professional degree for the artist and prepares students to go directly into a career. The department offers both the BFA in studio art degree and the BFA in graphic design degree. The BFA is also the foundation for the master’s program in studio art at UA and lays the groundwork for more advanced studies toward the Master of Arts and Master of Fine Arts degrees.
Hours for the Sella-Granata Art Gallery are Monday through Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. when school is in session. The gallery, located in 109 Woods Hall on 7th Avenue, UA campus in Tuscaloosa, features student exhibitions as well as visiting artists and is an essential part of the education and development of UA students and our community.
For more information about our BFA degrees or any of our degree programs in the UA Department of Art and Art History, go to this page or contact the department at (205) 348-5967.