Studio Art

Studio Art, housed in Ruffin Hall, is a rigorous undergraduate program in the College of Arts & Sciences, teaching artistic skills and application in drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, new media, printmaking, film, installation, and performance art. Courses acquaint the student with the concerns and issues of visual art through practical studio experience.

Studio Art faculty members are nationally and internationally recognized artists who combine a dedication to teaching with an active life in creating art. First and foremost, they are professional artists, maintaining studios in the community and exhibiting nationally and internationally. Faculty members have garnered Guggenheim Fellowships, National Endowment for the Arts fellowships, the Rome Prize, inclusion in multiple Sundance Film Festivals, Virginia Commission of the Arts Awards, and Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Professional Fellowships. Works by the faculty are in such prestigious museum collections as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Philadelphia Art Museum, the Hirshhorn Museum, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, and the Yale University Art Museum.

Innovation is the key to maintaining excellence in the studio art program. For instance, digital media have quickly become an important part of art making, requiring more laboratory equipment. A full-feature digital lab will serve photography, film, printmaking, and Web- and computer-based art.