The University of Maine at Presque Isle Fine Art Program will present one solo exhibition developed through the 2018-19 Fine Art Senior Thesis Exhibition course. The exhibitions is being hosted in the Pullen Art Gallery in May.

The Fine Art Senior Thesis Exhibition, a six credit, academic-year-long course, is a capstone to the BFA program. The rigorous course of study is unique to most statewide BFA programs. The Senior Show allows enrolled students to have an experience similar to a graduate school environment. Students are required to prepare a body of work for the solo exhibition and defend it orally and in writing, in order to graduate.

The student featured this year is Jami Cass. Her show will open May 2 and run through May 12; a reception will be held during the First Friday Art Walk on Friday, May 3 from 6 to 8 p.m., with a gallery talk at 6:30 p.m. Cass’s show is titled Rejectamenta: A Conversation Between Surface & Subject.

Her paintings focus on the beauty of the rural and urban landscape juxtaposed with the objects that mar it. Her current body of work is made on assembled and sewn nonrecycleble plastic bags, tarps, and fabrics. Cass aims to draw attention to the overwhelming amount of plastic and trash thoughtlessly discarded. Her paintings explore the question of where it all goes when we throw our garbage away.

The Fine Art Department commends Cass’s efforts in the capstone course. She has been responsible for all aspects of her exhibition, from making the frames and labels for the pieces, to advertising and promoting the show to the campus and community, to arranging for the art reception (including food and music), to developing the final artist’s statement, to preparing the gallery talk. As a final component of this year-long project, she will turn in her final thesis, an in-depth research paper about her work and the art, the artists that influenced it, and her aesthetic decisions.

The public is invited to view the exhibition through the show’s run and during the May 3 gallery reception. This event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.

For additional information, contact Hyrum Benson, UMPI Assistant Professor of Fine Art, at 207-768-9441 or hyrum.benson@maine.edu. Please follow the UMPI Art Department on Facebook at www.facebook.com/UMPIAD and Instagram: @umpiart.