Each year undergraduate and graduate students are nominated by faculty to exhibit
their art works at The President’s House on the University of South Carolina campus.
2025-2026 Exhibiting Artists\
Katy McCormack
Headwind, 2024 Digital archival print Price: $250
Bio
Katy McCormack is an Aiken, South Carolina-based photographer. She is currently a
graduate student in the MFA program at the University of South Carolina. Her work
focuses on familial relationships, memory, and identity.
Artist Statement
Headwind is an image from a larger body of work titled Have You Seen Me? The work
explores the relationship with self and Carl Jung’s concept of the “shadow self.”
Sophie Wickes
Bright Arts, 2025 Linoleum Relief Print
Jackson Shaner
Veiled Ambivalence, 2023 Ceramics and Glazes
Bio:
Jackson was born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina, where he received his BA
in Studio Art from Furman University. Currently, Jackson lives and works in Columbia,
SC, as he pursues his MFA and teaching career at the University of South Carolina.
Artist Statement:
In my work, I explore how strong emotions interact with the body. Emotional experiences
often somatize physical symptoms like tension, discomfort, or even pain. I often reflect
on these felt experiences and attempt to make them tangible. My studio practice allows
me to create space for my emotions, process them, express their sensorial effects,
and explore facets of my identity in a cathartic and healing way.
Gienesa is an Art Education major who has dedicated herself to learning and experiencing
as many diverse art mediums and techniques as possible.
Artist Statement:
These metal works represent the methodical process of learning a new medium. Each
piece is made using a different metal working technique, while also combined with
materials the artist has worked with before. It is an example of the mind exploring
the unknown with the guidance of past lessons.
Tristan Thorvaldson
Untitled, 2025 Ceramics and Glazes
Bio:
I’m Tristan Thorvaldson, born and raised in Lexington, South Carolina. My primary
media is Ceramics, and I also enjoy writing poetry. I tend to make functional work,
but also enjoy creating a story.
Artist Statement:
The body of work this piece was taken from is all about diving into my emotions about
events and people in my life. Whether they are present or past, I wanted these works
to feel like someone was looking into my life and could follow my developing moments.
It has always felt like I need to hide certain elements of my life, so with this,
I wanted how I feel to be out there and readily available.
Tamia Turner
Two Sides for You, 2025 Brush Pen and Ink on Vellum Paper NFS
Bio:
Tamia Turner is a traditional artist who specializes in pen-and-ink drawing. She received
her BFA in Art Studio, emphasizing Drawing, and her BA in Art History from the University
of South Carolina in May 2025 and is currently pursuing her MFA in Illustration at
the Savannah College of Art and Design.
Artist Statement:
My current series, titled “Missing Person,” revolves around the complications of love
and the experiences of longing for someone you’ve never met while being conflicted
about someone from the past. My work features a fictional female character paired
with animal companions, often inspired by chosen songs used for inspiration. Music
is an essential aspect of my process and final work; therefore, by infusing each piece
with a particular song, I can deeply capture my emotions connected to personal struggles,
expressed through vibrant female and animal characters instead of traditional words.
In my work, I combine the charm of vintage illustration and historical folklore on
witchcraft to convey my experiences with potential love interests. It originates from
a deep admiration for Victorian-era ink illustrations, a style that resonates with
me and my fascination for folklore stories involving witches and witchcraft. My artwork
is a deliberate expression of my deepest emotions, layered with meaning and crafted
through traditional mediums and color schemes that pay homage to the elegance of Victorian
art. Each piece invites viewers to journey through my memories, experiencing the emotions
that shaped my artistic vision. The artists that most influence my work include Northern
Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer, English book illustrator Arthur Rackham, and Italian
illustrator Jessica Cioffi.
Mitra Kavandi
So Far So Close, 2024 Oil on Canvas $4000
Bio:
Mitra Kavandi is a multidisciplinary artist based in Columbia, South Carolina. She
is currently pursuing her Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Studio Art with a concentration
in ceramics at the University of South Carolina. With a background in psychology and
a deep interest in philosophy, her work explores themes such as time, identity, and
the tension between material and meaning.
Artist Statement:
This work is a reflection on the human longing for liberation and the search for something
beyond the tangible world—in a landscape suspended between reality and imagination.
A nude figure, rendered in shades of blue that echo the sky, stands on the edge of
a cliff deep within the mountains, reaching toward glass cubes containing moving clouds.
These elements are symbols of dreams, imagination, hope, and desires that are always
in motion. In this liminal space between earth and sky, between body and mind, I have
aimed to capture a moment of suspension—a place where the yearning to touch the unknown
extends beyond the boundaries of what is visible. This work explores the endless human
quest for meaning and a higher purpose. In this suspended state between body and mind.
At the heart of this work lies the unconscious human pull toward self-creation and
transcendence. The motion of the figure’s hand reflects the human condition—caught
between the limits of sensory perception and the boundless realm of intellect and
ideals. This painting is a visualization of the inner struggle between what can be
known and what forever remains out of reach—a reflection of the concept of the “shadow
self,” the parts of our being that remain unknown, yet ceaselessly draw us toward
them.
Challenge the conventional. Create the exceptional. No Limits.
