'Amalgamate': The Fine Arts BFA Senior Exhibition

​Opening Reception: Tues., Nov. 30, 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
On View: Mon., Nov. 29 through Fri, Dec. 10, 2021 in Recitation Gallery
Press Contact: Blake Shuart, mdbzede@udel.edu

The Department of Art and Design at the University of Delaware is proud to host Amalgamate: The Fine Arts BFA Senior Exhibition for Fall 2021. Amalgamate brings together disparate works by five graduating fine arts students in one thesis show. Featuring recent work by Madeline Cole, Lynn Marcus, Veronica Parcells, Blake Shuart and Daniel Swain, this exhibition exemplifies their experience of working together as a community of student artists–sharing ideas and studio spaces, critiquing each other's work, and taking classes together–an activity done together to develop individual voices.

The work on view represents the hard work and discipline they used to learn skills in a range of media, think through disparate forms of making, and research and write to develop their personal voice. Madeline Cole's rotoscoped animation titled, I Am Lucky, draws from her personal life as a transracial adoptee. The paintings and illustrations of Lynn Marcus are inspired by close friends and people on social media that she is fascinated by. Her portraits seek to honor and respect each individual. Intentionally pushing the boundaries of discomfort and joy, Veronica Parcells' sculpture of a colossal clown puppet and metal spiders are inspired by horror and from her background in theater wig and makeup design. Humor and curiosity inform the ceramic and paper maché sculptures of Blake Shuart. His UFO installation is participatory; viewers are invited to peek inside the vessel to visit the world he has created. Daniel Swain's oil and acrylic paintings combine his interests in paleontology, cartography, botany and natural sciences with the imaginary worlds of video games and science fiction stories. ​

Madeline Cole is a lower Delaware resident who works out of her home studio creating animations, illustrations, and narrative works. Being a transracial adoptee her work explores the idea of personal and cultural identity. She delves into the unconventional and strange by animating her drawings, bringing life to her subconscious whims. Cole believes, “if you can't laugh at life, then you might as well cry." Madeleine is receiving her BFA in Fine Arts from the University of Delaware in December 2021. Her work has been shown in Dot, Dot, Dot… The 2020 Annual Undergrad Juried Exhibition, curated by Allan Espiritu, Associate Professor of Art at Rutgers University for the Department of Art & Design at the University of Delaware.​

Lynn Marcus' portraits of people and animals are expressive and colorful. She paints and illustrates to express her beliefs. She states, “I believe in LGBTQIA+ rights, human rights, abortion, racial equity, and Asian representation. I think being open-minded and accepting change or unlearning harmful behaviors will bring the world closer." Marcus surrounds herself with LGBTQIA+ and LGBTQIA+ friendly groups, social media, music, and restaurants. She does this because she is open minded, values representation in the world, and is a pansexual woman in the United States. She continuously takes inspiration from those whose beliefs and goals align with hers to make the world a better place.

Born in Pennsylvania, Veronica Parcells is based in Newark, Delaware. Parcells has interests in theatre, horror, film, makeup, and costume design. She seeks to showcase otherworldly characters and scenarios through video, photography, and sculpture. Parcells studied wig and makeup for theater at Webster University and mortuary science at Point Park University. Her interest in horror has played a big role in her creative process and continues to do so as a Fine Arts student at the University of Delaware. When sculpting, Parcells states: “Handcrafting allows my work to be appreciated for its tedious construction, in addition to its subject matter." Parcells has had several achievements while attending the University of Delaware including a special merit in Maskerade: the 2021 Undergraduate Juried Exhibition, an honorable mention for the competitive 2021-22 Lynn Herrick Sharp Award, and an exhibition of her work in the Lynn Herrick Sharp Award Show at The Delaware Contemporary in 2022.

Blake Shuart, born in Annapolis, Maryland, has spent the last six years of his life in Sussex County, Delaware. Shuart is a sculptor, ceramicist, video-maker and painter. He is spontaneous yet interested in tedious and repetitive process-based actions. His work methods allow him to improvise during the creative building process. He enjoys creating pieces that converse with his audience, urges them to discover more, and creates an interactive experience for the viewers. Upon graduating, Shuart will be pursuing his career in residential and commercial painting and plans to continue creating art.

​Delaware-born artist Daniel Swain has lived all of his life in Sussex County. Swain is particularly interested in natural history and how scientific curiosity and imagination is used to better understand the world around us and the world of the past. Swain experiments with a wide range of media including ceramics, oil and acrylic paint, soft pastel, steelwork, woodwork, design, general illustration, and 3D modeling software. He has conducted creative research with the support of the University of Delaware's Summer Fellows' Research Program in 2021 and has exhibited his work in the Department of Art and Design's Undergraduate Juried Exhibition in 2020 and 2021 and the 9th Annual Delaware State Employee Art Exhibition.​​​​​