Kansas State University Department of Art will present the second of two BFA Thesis Exhibitions of the spring semester featuring Layne McAfee, Laurel Beal, and Arly DeMata-Romero. The artists will showcase an exhibition of their undergraduate artwork from May 11 through 15, 2026 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 15, from 5:00 to 7:00pm in the gallery. Admission is free and open to the public.
Laurel Beal, a painter from Belleville, Kansas, delves into depicting the vibrancy and liveliness of landscapes based on places she has travelled to using oil pastels on panels. Her work entails “capturing” the essence of memories and the beauty of nature she experienced during her travels in her depicted works. She states that “when I work rendering landscapes, I see not only a scenic view, but a memory that I want to immortalize and cherish forever.”
Arly DeMata-Romero is a photographer from Kansas City. She will be receiving her Bachelor of Fine Arts in May 2026. With Latin origins, her current photographic work reflects not only her culture, but how her family dynamics have evolved over time as well as what her childhood was like growing up lower class. She enjoys documenting the authenticity of her life in order to connect with others who might feel negatively about their upbringing with the hope that they feel less alone knowing others have lived similar experiences.
Layne McAfee, a multidisciplinary artist from Winchester, Kansas, utilizes her work as a visual diary. Created solely from self-taken reference photographs, her work is a celebration of the small moments that make up a majority of our lived experience. “I capture an image if it hits me in my chest; it's a palpable feeling when the creation of a memory is involved.” Focusing on the emotional and tactile senses of creation, color and texture play a pivotal role in Layne’s practice.
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.