Kansas State University Department of Art will present the second of three BFA Exhibitions of the spring semester featuring Abbey Ackerman, Chloe Carson, Chris Harris, and Olivia Headley. The artists will showcase an exhibition of their undergraduate artwork from May 5 through May 9, 2025 in the Mark A. Chapman Gallery, first floor of Willard Hall. Gallery hours are 8am – 5pm, Monday through Friday. Please feel free to attend the reception with the artists on Friday evening, May 9, from 5 – 7pm in the gallery. Admission is free and open to the public.

Abbey Ackerman is a sculptor from Lawrence, Kansas, who creates figures from fabric and found and natural objects. Her work personifies the imagination of childhood while incorporating the unusual. The figures embody the idea of individuality and draw from her own experiences growing up. She says, “My work reflects the desire to embrace my differentness and to display it proudly.”

Chloe Carson is a contemporary artist and painter from Manhattan, Kansas. Her work, largely in oil paint, is characterized by bold color, thick texture, and mixed media. Drawing on her lived experiences as a woman in the modern world, Carson creates large, expressionistic, figural work, often incorporating the concept of collage with found materials such as fabric, books, newsprint, and more. She says, “Each painting shows an alternate reality to be investigated.” Her paintings and works on paper invite viewers to experience an exaggerated view of womanhood.

Chris Harris is a ceramicist from Manhattan, Kansas whose work delves into ideas of religion, spirituality, astrology, and meditation as a means of inquiry into the present state of the world and his mind. These means of scientific and spiritual testing lead him to learn more about himself and his place in the world using elements of text, imagery, symbols, and aspects of planetary influence. He says, “Certain truths are found through this process of analyzing conditioned behaviors and beliefs to incorporate new knowledge into his identity.” His works portray concurrent reflection on internal and external influences he has accumulated throughout his life.

Olivia Headley, a photographer from Riley, Kansas, explores the aftermath of college parties and provides an outsider's perspective on the debris left behind. Inspired by the contrast between the chaotic party atmosphere and the absence of people that is found the morning after a big college party, she says, “My work takes a closer look at the vivid picture of the night's activities.” Her photographs show how the party scene looks to outsiders and observes the environment parties create.

The Mark A. Chapman Gallery on the first floor of Willard Hall, across from the art office, opened in 2005. Cheryl Mellenthin and Mark Chapman funded a complete renovation of the former Willard Hall Gallery, increasing the exhibition space to over 1,400 square feet along with 400 square feet dedicated to exhibition preparation and kitchen facilities. The Department of Art hosts BFA and MFA student exhibitions in the gallery as part of graduation requirements each semester. The technology friendly gallery serves not only exhibition purposes but also provides a location for an active Visiting Artist lecture program.