Art & Art History
I Accidentally Turned Off the Sun: 2012 UIC Art MFA Thesis Exhibition 4

The fourth in a series of four UIC MFA Thesis Exhibitions in Studio Arts, Photography, Moving Image, and New Media Arts.
Nina Barnett ’s practice addresses transition, distance, and exploration, both horizontal and vertical. Her current investigations concern aspects of holes, tunnelling (mining), and depth through drawing, video, and sculpture. Barnett hails from Johannesburg, South Africa, where she received a BA at the University of Witwatersrand.
Chaz Evans is an artist, media art historian, and the artistic director of parker, a performance collective based in Chicago. His work investigates the points at which software and performance intersect, using methods that apply historical forms of critique to emerging disciplines of media and technology. He has exhibited at such venues as Eastern Expansion Gallery, Chicago; Chopin Theatre, Chicago; the Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago; and the Evanston Art Center. Evans received a BA from North Park University in Theatre and Performance and an MA in Art History from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Kasia Houlihan works in a variety of media in an effort to get at the experience of relating. With photography, drawing, video, performance, audio, sculpture, she chips away at such concepts as closeness and distance, thresholds, and control. She has exhibited at venues such as Comfort Station, Chicago; Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami; and the de la Cruz Collection Contemporary Art Space, Miami. Houlihan received a BA from the University of Chicago.
Mark Kent originally hails from Ireland and has been leading a nomadic existence around Europe for the last ten years, creating films resulting from his experiences. Kent has exhibited work at Buro Leeuwarden, the Netherlands; SKAM e.V, Hamburg; Galerie Conrads, Düsseldorf; and Ellen de Bruijne PROJECTS, Amsterdam.
Brendan Meara is a media artist whose work addresses themes of identity, moral value, greed, freedom, obsession, existence, reason, faith, suicide, and humor. His work has been exhibited at the University of the Americas, Puebla, Mexico; Review Studios, Kansas City; Roots and Culture, Chicago; and Alderman Exhibitions, Chicago. Meara will have a forthcoming ‘Artist Edition 10″ LP’ on Positive Beat Recordings, Chicago. He received a BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute in 2004.
Related:
The 2012 MFA Thesis Exhibitions are supported by Gallery 400 and the School of Art and Design at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Exhibition Checklist
Nina Barnett
It ’s a Different Place, 2012
Video with sound loop
Making an Absence, 2012
Graphite on paper
Mine, 2011
16mm film loop
Out of Range, Only the Seams Can Be Seen, 2012
Graphite, ink, and gold leaf on paper
Chaz Evans
Agonism Machine (I Ching Abridged and Updated), 2012
Software, audio, plasma displays, laptop PC, microcontroller,
distance sensor, AV carts, display mounts, and work desk
Text by Adrian Vigliano and Harry S. Truman
Binocular Rivalry (Alabama), 2012
Software, audio, CRT monitors, desktop PC, and AV cart
Kasia Houlihan
Blush, 2012
Pillowcase and pair of socks
Breathing Under You, 2011
Hand-embossed paper
Hold On, 2011
Single-channel video, 1:40 min. loop
Tender, 2011
Archival inkjet print
Mark Kent
a slow descent into darkness/a year in the life of a floating shanty town, 2012
Two-channel video projection, 18 min. loop
Brendan Meara
Blank Magic, 2012
Steel conduit and white acrylic paint
Used Library Furniture, 2012
Used library furniture and white acrylic paint
Yellow Dwarf, 2012
Archival pigment print, Illuma System Light Control by Bencher Inc. (photographic copy stand and illuminated light table)