Enjoy Local Art with UNO’s Spring BFA Thesis and BASA Senior Exhibitions

April 10th, 2026

Could it be the satisfaction of color overtaking a blank canvas, the angle that captures it all through a lens or the final touch that brings form to clay that drives an artist? However art is made, it is through the intention of the artist that a conversation surrounding the piece can begin. For the students graduating from UNO’s Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art and Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art programs this Spring, an opportunity to display their newest artwork allows the public to indulge in fresh artistic perspectives. UNO will showcase these pieces in the upcoming BFA Thesis and BASA Senior Exhibitions, debuting April 13 at UNO’s Art Gallery. 

This semester’s exhibition features work from BFA artists Carrie Gangwish, Simon Miller and Juliana Sheopner. Each student participating in the exhibition is provided with exhibition space to display their work. To prepare students for future exhibitions, the students are fully responsible for organizing their assigned sections. By navigating the intricacies of exhibition planning, each unique section within the exhibition is the result of weeks of preparation each student completed to display their art.  

Gangwish, primarily an oil painter, began her artistic journey as a child. Encouraged by her grandmother to pursue various artistic hobbies, Gangwish developed a love for art that drew her to enroll in UNO’s BFA program. Taken inspiration heavily from nature, Gangwish often incorporates flowers and figurative imagery in many of her works. Her work within the exhibition explores themes such as moments in time and preservation of specific moments alongside floral imagery. 

Miller, a visual artist who specializes in drawing, shared a similar love for art throughout his childhood. Throughout his time at the BFA program, he began experimenting with his art, branching out from primarily drawing into other mediums, often creating mixed media pieces. Through his use of unconventional materials, such as rust or flower petals, Miller conveys a nuanced piece using the symbolism to illustrate layers of meaning to each artwork. His art within the exhibition explores the fluidity of the human body.

Sheopner, a printmaking artist, discovered the power that art holds for both communication and advocacy. Her work is done through screen prints and photo lithography and is largely driven through her experiences as a disabled woman. Through complex color and shading in her lithographs and a more graphical approach in her screen prints, Sheopner’s art illustrates how disability is a nuanced dynamic aspect of those who experience it.  

The exhibition will be found at the UNO Art Gallery, located on the first floor of the Weber Fine Arts Building. The exhibition will be open weekdays between 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. A reception will be held May 1.