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Work From Our MFA in Visual Arts Program

Lesley’s MFA in Visual Arts—one of the oldest and most established residency-based MFAs in the country—will help you advance your art practice and develop the necessary skills for a career in the arts.

Explore the work of alumni, faculty, and past visiting artists

Working closely with your artist mentors and alongside our faculty and visiting artists, you'll find inspiration that will help push your art forward. Continue reading to see what you could make and who you will work with!

Review the 2025 Graduate Exhibition Catalog from the newest Lesley University MFA candidates.

Alumni Work

Launch Gallery
Gallery: MFA Visual Arts Alumni Work
A tangle of neon classical figues in various poses. One black man in the top left corner bends down above the figures with his arms crossed over his chest.
Slide 1 of 16
Michael Herbert Dorn '18
A ceramic sculpture. A beige squash-like object bends down, sprouting red blob-like petals that reach the ground.
Slide 2 of 16
Jessica Lau '20
A large area of sand sculpted into desert dunes in the corner of a dark room. A bright, circular, swirly object is projected on the wall above the dunes.
Slide 3 of 16
Andrew S. Yang '14
A white sculpture of forest animals made from plastics like plastic utensils.
Slide 4 of 16
Zoe Friend '20
5 columns of portraits of Latinx people and their stories.
Slide 5 of 16
Nayda Cuervas '15
A large colorful and playful soft sculpture of two figures covered in polka dots sitting on a smiling red dinosaur.
Slide 6 of 16
JooYoung Choi '12
An illustration of a black person puckering their lips and holding a white cloth over their eyes.
Slide 7 of 16
Donna Woodley '16
A bright purple, orange, yellow, and green painting of two people kayaking in a body of water surrounded by trees and greenery. The woman in the foreground sits in her yellow kayak holding a red plastic cup.
Slide 8 of 16
Danielle Klebes '17
A black person with long dreadlocks faces away towards a large black door, a white desk, and a metal bucket. They are lifting up a white bowl and are pouring water onto their head.
Slide 9 of 16
Becci Davis '17
A large, mountainous rainbow-colored sheet sits in the middle of an art gallery. Two of its corners are attached to wires that come down from the ceiling.
Slide 10 of 16
Cicely Carew '20
Black and white photo of pebbles in front of a fence. Long skinny rays of sunlight shine down the fence and onto the pebbles.
Slide 11 of 16
"Incandescent Lines" | Brian Unwin ’20
Unwin's photographic work translates into material engagements.
Scratchy, patterned, amorphous pieces of material stitched together with white thread. The pieces of material are black, orange, brown, and white. The middle brown piece has orange spray paint that reads "CAME FROM."
Slide 12 of 16
"Go Back To Where You Came From" | Deborah Read Belguendouz ’21
Belguendouz turns mixed media painting into large scale sculptural work.
Pile of long, stuffed, fabric tubes of different patterns. At the top of the trianglar pile, a black braid sprouts and attaches to the wall.
Slide 13 of 16
"Trojan Horse" | Edi Friedlander (Sika Foyer) ’21
Friedlander (Foyer) uses wrapping, textiles and found materials to create performative and poetic objects.
Abstract sculpture of cement blocks, pale yellow goop, and a pink dome with spikes.
Slide 14 of 16
"Wandering Persephone" | Jessica Lau ’20
Lau creates ceramic based work with mixed media engagements.
Abrstract yellow, orange, and grey watercolor splotches and grey scribbly lines.
Slide 15 of 16
"Replicate and Sublimate" | Tracy Hayes ’21
Hayes employs a complex gestural and material engagement with painting.
Collection of polaroids that are pictures of close-ups of a Black woman's head.
Slide 16 of 16
"Untitled (Gold Portraits Photo Album)" | Tyahra Angus ’20
Angus's photographic and activist based art practice centers around the queer black community.
A tangle of neon classical figues in various poses. One black man in the top left corner bends down above the figures with his arms crossed over his chest.
Slide 1 of 16
Michael Herbert Dorn '18
A ceramic sculpture. A beige squash-like object bends down, sprouting red blob-like petals that reach the ground.
Slide 2 of 16
Jessica Lau '20
A large area of sand sculpted into desert dunes in the corner of a dark room. A bright, circular, swirly object is projected on the wall above the dunes.
Slide 3 of 16
Andrew S. Yang '14
A white sculpture of forest animals made from plastics like plastic utensils.
Slide 4 of 16
Zoe Friend '20
5 columns of portraits of Latinx people and their stories.
Slide 5 of 16
Nayda Cuervas '15
A large colorful and playful soft sculpture of two figures covered in polka dots sitting on a smiling red dinosaur.
Slide 6 of 16
JooYoung Choi '12
An illustration of a black person puckering their lips and holding a white cloth over their eyes.
Slide 7 of 16
Donna Woodley '16
A bright purple, orange, yellow, and green painting of two people kayaking in a body of water surrounded by trees and greenery. The woman in the foreground sits in her yellow kayak holding a red plastic cup.
Slide 8 of 16
Danielle Klebes '17
A black person with long dreadlocks faces away towards a large black door, a white desk, and a metal bucket. They are lifting up a white bowl and are pouring water onto their head.
Slide 9 of 16
Becci Davis '17
A large, mountainous rainbow-colored sheet sits in the middle of an art gallery. Two of its corners are attached to wires that come down from the ceiling.
Slide 10 of 16
Cicely Carew '20
Black and white photo of pebbles in front of a fence. Long skinny rays of sunlight shine down the fence and onto the pebbles.
Slide 11 of 16
"Incandescent Lines" | Brian Unwin ’20
Unwin's photographic work translates into material engagements.
Scratchy, patterned, amorphous pieces of material stitched together with white thread. The pieces of material are black, orange, brown, and white. The middle brown piece has orange spray paint that reads "CAME FROM."
Slide 12 of 16
"Go Back To Where You Came From" | Deborah Read Belguendouz ’21
Belguendouz turns mixed media painting into large scale sculptural work.
Pile of long, stuffed, fabric tubes of different patterns. At the top of the trianglar pile, a black braid sprouts and attaches to the wall.
Slide 13 of 16
"Trojan Horse" | Edi Friedlander (Sika Foyer) ’21
Friedlander (Foyer) uses wrapping, textiles and found materials to create performative and poetic objects.
Abstract sculpture of cement blocks, pale yellow goop, and a pink dome with spikes.
Slide 14 of 16
"Wandering Persephone" | Jessica Lau ’20
Lau creates ceramic based work with mixed media engagements.
Abrstract yellow, orange, and grey watercolor splotches and grey scribbly lines.
Slide 15 of 16
"Replicate and Sublimate" | Tracy Hayes ’21
Hayes employs a complex gestural and material engagement with painting.
Collection of polaroids that are pictures of close-ups of a Black woman's head.
Slide 16 of 16
"Untitled (Gold Portraits Photo Album)" | Tyahra Angus ’20
Angus's photographic and activist based art practice centers around the queer black community.

The Mentorship Experience

Read what our alumni have to say about their professional arts mentor experience.

Roberto Mighty portrait

Roberto Mighty '11, filmmaker

"I was matched up with four professional fine artists whose work resonated with my interests and aspirations. Each artist gave me feedback, criticism, reality checks and encouragement. Meeting with them gave me a sense of what it meant to be a professional artist in terms of the work itself, networking, outreach and expectations around making a living."
Cicely Carew holds up a piece of mesh and looks at the patterns it reflects on the wall.

Cicely Carew '20, multi-media artist

"My mentor and I talked about motherhood, what it is to be a maker, what I want to pursue in my work, the meaning of an MFA. She's a big name in the contemporary art world and I'm face to face with someone I've read about and heard speak—I was in awe. She was a real person, and talked to me like I'm a real person with valid pursuits and desires and a life that she could also relate to."
Artist James Ransome

Ransome '21, painter

"My last mentor has a large presence in the art world, but she’s not an artist—she's a curator. That was what I envisioned when I came into the program. I have a successful commercial art career—I went to grad school because I wanted to focus on developing a body of work while having dialogues with people in the art business, almost to tell everyone that I'm taking this seriously."
In this photo Eileen Powers in the right side of the image leaning forward looking left with her lips pursed chewing a piece of lettuce salad she is bringing towards her mouth with a fork. In the other hand she holds a red plate full of lettuce. She is wearing a red and white gingham collared shirt with a bright green cardigan over. She has her eyebrows raised and red lipstick on. Her wig is a bob made from large pieces of green lettuce with bangs and a hot pink hair clip pinned on each side.

Eileen Powers '20, multimedia artist

"You want somebody who doesn't necessarily do the exact same thing you're doing. You want someone who's different enough from you so that you can learn where their process went. And some mentors are more hands-on than others. My mentor had lists of things for me that when I had time to either read, watch, or experience—just things that would enrich my practice in some way."
MFA in Visual Arts alumna Zoe Friend

Zoe Friend '19, sculptor

"My mentor was just so available and so cool. He's pretty famous—Joel Otterson. He was having a show at the ICA while I was mentoring under him and it humanized what seemed like these completely unattainable success stories to have this pure interaction with them. That was huge, just to learn that these are human beings and what's more that they are helpful, kind patient human beings!”
Artist Sika Foyer stands next to one of her wrapped sculptural works.

Sika Foyer '21, multi-media artist

"I liked the low-residency program because I’m independent. I can do research on my own. But to have that one-on-one mentorship with someone who is well-known and well-established in the artistic community is very helpful. To be able to bounce my ideas, the concept of what I'm making…it helps a lot when you have a good mentor to exchange ideas and have a conversation with."
Deborah Read Belguendouz '21 "Skeleton Boxes"

Deborah Read Belguendouz '21, multi-media artist

"I was looking for my MFA program to be a transformational experience for me as an artist, and for it to transform you, you need a guide. My first mentor was Patte Loper who teaches at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and she was amazing. She introduced me to so many new concepts. She got me out of my comfort zone, but she supported me in getting out of my comfort zone."
Shelly Phillips '22

Shelly Phillips, '22, multi-media artist

“I had the most amazing mentor, Joseph Fontinha, who was a Lesley MFA graduate. I can't say enough about him. He gave me so much more than what was on that piece of paper—I can't even count the hours. My background is in photography. But I’d always wanted to paint and that's the magic about this program. They don’t limit you. They meet you where you're at and they help you grow.”

Faculty Work

Launch Gallery
Gallery: MFA Visual Arts Faculty Work
Blue, green, orange, yellow, and pink lines in the middle of a gray canvas.
Slide 1 of 6
Deborah Davidson
Deborah Davidson is an artist, curator and educator. She received her MFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts/Tufts University and BA from Binghamton University.
Illustration of a person laying down, crying, and looking up at hands that are holding a swab and a magnifying glass. The person laying down has a transparent green square over their eye.
Slide 2 of 6
Peter Rostovsky
Peter Rostovsky is a Russian-born artist and writer who works in a variety of disciplines that include painting, sculpture, installation, and digital art. His many projects attempt to bridge the gap between painting and conceptual art.
Bright illustration of a silver and pink figure holding a yellow baby with green spots.
Slide 3 of 6
Alex Jackson
Alex Jackson is originally from Kenosha, WI and currently lives and works in New Haven, CT. He attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison for his BFA and received his MFA from Yale University in 2017.
A woman sits on a stump in front of a painted mountainous landscape. A brown sheep stands next to her. Both are looking to the left.
Slide 4 of 6
Oliver Wasow
Oliver Wasow is a fine art photographer living and working in Rhinebeck, NY. He received his BA from Hunter College and his Master’s Degree from the Transart Institute in Austria.
Abstract collage of bright geometric prints and white paper.
Slide 5 of 6
Laurel Sparks
Laurel Sparks is a Brooklyn-based painter whose work embodies geometric symbol systems and the transmitting potential of pattern and materiality.
Two clear tubes tilted toward the ceiling in a gallery space.
Slide 6 of 6
Deb Todd Wheeler
Deb Todd Wheeler generates discreetly intimate experiences through interactive installations, objects, and participatory gatherings.
Blue, green, orange, yellow, and pink lines in the middle of a gray canvas.
Slide 1 of 6
Deborah Davidson
Deborah Davidson is an artist, curator and educator. She received her MFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts/Tufts University and BA from Binghamton University.
Illustration of a person laying down, crying, and looking up at hands that are holding a swab and a magnifying glass. The person laying down has a transparent green square over their eye.
Slide 2 of 6
Peter Rostovsky
Peter Rostovsky is a Russian-born artist and writer who works in a variety of disciplines that include painting, sculpture, installation, and digital art. His many projects attempt to bridge the gap between painting and conceptual art.
Bright illustration of a silver and pink figure holding a yellow baby with green spots.
Slide 3 of 6
Alex Jackson
Alex Jackson is originally from Kenosha, WI and currently lives and works in New Haven, CT. He attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison for his BFA and received his MFA from Yale University in 2017.
A woman sits on a stump in front of a painted mountainous landscape. A brown sheep stands next to her. Both are looking to the left.
Slide 4 of 6
Oliver Wasow
Oliver Wasow is a fine art photographer living and working in Rhinebeck, NY. He received his BA from Hunter College and his Master’s Degree from the Transart Institute in Austria.
Abstract collage of bright geometric prints and white paper.
Slide 5 of 6
Laurel Sparks
Laurel Sparks is a Brooklyn-based painter whose work embodies geometric symbol systems and the transmitting potential of pattern and materiality.
Two clear tubes tilted toward the ceiling in a gallery space.
Slide 6 of 6
Deb Todd Wheeler
Deb Todd Wheeler generates discreetly intimate experiences through interactive installations, objects, and participatory gatherings.

Past Visiting Artists

Launch Gallery
Gallery: MFA Visual Arts Visiting Artists
Ursula Von Rydingsvard stands in an art gallery surrounded by various large, abstract sculptures made from wood.
Slide 1 of 11
Ursula Von Rydingsvard
Ursula von Rydingsvard has become one of the most influential sculptors working today, best known for creating large-scale sculptures from cedar beams.
Trenton Doyle Hancock stands in an art studio messy with paper, wood, figurines, and other art materials. He smiles while holding a superhero figurine.
Slide 2 of 11
Trenton Doyle Hancock
Trenton Doyle Hancock is an American artist working with prints, drawings, and collaged-felt paintings. Through his work, Hancock mainly aims to tell the story of the Mounds, mystical creatures that are part of the artist's world.
Carrie Moyer stands and smiles with her hands behind her back. She is in front of an abstract blue, pink, orange, yellow, and white painting.
Slide 3 of 11
Carrie Moyer is an artist and writer. With photographer Sue Schaffner, she co-founded one of the first lesbian public art projects, Dyke Action Machine!, which was active in New York City between 1991-2008.
Mika Rottenberg squats in front of a white wall. Next to her, a small rectangular portion of the wall is painted yellow, with two metal objects stuck to it.
Slide 4 of 11
Argentina-born, New York-based artist Mika Rottenberg is devoted to a rigorous practice that combines film, architectural installation, and sculpture to explore ideas of labor and the production of value in our contemporary hyper-capitalist world.
Mark Dion smiles while crossing his arms. Blurry behind him is a brown wall with a pattern of rams, binoculars, possums, flys, knives, and other indecipherable ojects.
Slide 5 of 11
Mark Dion
Mark Dion’s work examines the ways in which dominant ideologies and public institutions shape our understanding of history, knowledge, and the natural world.
Jerry Saltz smiles and shrugs in front of a colorful, textured, wall. The wall appears to depict sun rays, rock formations, and waves.
Slide 6 of 11
Jerry Saltz
Jerry Saltz is the senior art critic at New York Magazine and its entertainment site Vulture.com, a leading voice in the art world at large, and an innovative user of social media.
Helen Molesworth stands in front of a gray wall, wearing glasses and a black collared shirt.
Slide 7 of 11
Helen Molesworth was the Chief Curator at The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Los Angeles from 2014-2018 and the Chief Curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) Boston from 2010—2014.
Diana Al Hadid stares at the camera with her hands on her hips. Blurry behind her is a white art gallery with vague abstract sculptures behind her.
Slide 8 of 11
Diana Al-Hadid
Diana Al-Hadid is known for a practice that spans media and scale, and examines the historical frameworks and perspectives that shape our material and cultural assumptions.
Doris Salcedo stares defiantly at the camera while crossing her arms. She stands in the center of an art studio where other people are bent over desks, working.
Slide 9 of 11
Doris Salcedo
Doris Salcedo’s understated sculptures and installations embody the silenced lives of the marginalized, from individual victims of violence to the disempowered of the Third World.
Kalup Linzy wears a shiny tank top and a blue flower in his hair, posing and looking to the left.
Slide 10 of 11
Kalup Linzy
Kalup Linzy is an American video and performance artist whose works challenge ideas of gender while embracing a wide range of pop cultural forms such as soap operas, drag performances, and censored movies and radio programs from the 1930s.
JooYoung Choi wearing a pink wig and round orange glasses stands in a fictional green world surrounded by herself in different costumes.
Slide 11 of 11
JooYoung Choi
Through painting, video, sculpture, animation, music, and installation art multidisciplinary world builder JooYoung Choi documents the interconnecting narratives of a highly-structured, expansive fictional land called the Cosmic Womb.
Ursula Von Rydingsvard stands in an art gallery surrounded by various large, abstract sculptures made from wood.
Slide 1 of 11
Ursula Von Rydingsvard
Ursula von Rydingsvard has become one of the most influential sculptors working today, best known for creating large-scale sculptures from cedar beams.
Trenton Doyle Hancock stands in an art studio messy with paper, wood, figurines, and other art materials. He smiles while holding a superhero figurine.
Slide 2 of 11
Trenton Doyle Hancock
Trenton Doyle Hancock is an American artist working with prints, drawings, and collaged-felt paintings. Through his work, Hancock mainly aims to tell the story of the Mounds, mystical creatures that are part of the artist's world.
Carrie Moyer stands and smiles with her hands behind her back. She is in front of an abstract blue, pink, orange, yellow, and white painting.
Slide 3 of 11
Carrie Moyer is an artist and writer. With photographer Sue Schaffner, she co-founded one of the first lesbian public art projects, Dyke Action Machine!, which was active in New York City between 1991-2008.
Mika Rottenberg squats in front of a white wall. Next to her, a small rectangular portion of the wall is painted yellow, with two metal objects stuck to it.
Slide 4 of 11
Argentina-born, New York-based artist Mika Rottenberg is devoted to a rigorous practice that combines film, architectural installation, and sculpture to explore ideas of labor and the production of value in our contemporary hyper-capitalist world.
Mark Dion smiles while crossing his arms. Blurry behind him is a brown wall with a pattern of rams, binoculars, possums, flys, knives, and other indecipherable ojects.
Slide 5 of 11
Mark Dion
Mark Dion’s work examines the ways in which dominant ideologies and public institutions shape our understanding of history, knowledge, and the natural world.
Jerry Saltz smiles and shrugs in front of a colorful, textured, wall. The wall appears to depict sun rays, rock formations, and waves.
Slide 6 of 11
Jerry Saltz
Jerry Saltz is the senior art critic at New York Magazine and its entertainment site Vulture.com, a leading voice in the art world at large, and an innovative user of social media.
Helen Molesworth stands in front of a gray wall, wearing glasses and a black collared shirt.
Slide 7 of 11
Helen Molesworth was the Chief Curator at The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Los Angeles from 2014-2018 and the Chief Curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) Boston from 2010—2014.
Diana Al Hadid stares at the camera with her hands on her hips. Blurry behind her is a white art gallery with vague abstract sculptures behind her.
Slide 8 of 11
Diana Al-Hadid
Diana Al-Hadid is known for a practice that spans media and scale, and examines the historical frameworks and perspectives that shape our material and cultural assumptions.
Doris Salcedo stares defiantly at the camera while crossing her arms. She stands in the center of an art studio where other people are bent over desks, working.
Slide 9 of 11
Doris Salcedo
Doris Salcedo’s understated sculptures and installations embody the silenced lives of the marginalized, from individual victims of violence to the disempowered of the Third World.
Kalup Linzy wears a shiny tank top and a blue flower in his hair, posing and looking to the left.
Slide 10 of 11
Kalup Linzy
Kalup Linzy is an American video and performance artist whose works challenge ideas of gender while embracing a wide range of pop cultural forms such as soap operas, drag performances, and censored movies and radio programs from the 1930s.
JooYoung Choi wearing a pink wig and round orange glasses stands in a fictional green world surrounded by herself in different costumes.
Slide 11 of 11
JooYoung Choi
Through painting, video, sculpture, animation, music, and installation art multidisciplinary world builder JooYoung Choi documents the interconnecting narratives of a highly-structured, expansive fictional land called the Cosmic Womb.

Working During A Residency

Launch Gallery
Gallery: MFA Visual Arts Program
Student Elyse Kotakis sits on the floor, working on her project.
Slide 1 of 9
A student works on her project.
Students and faculty sitting in chairs in Lunder, clapping during graduation.
Slide 2 of 9
Students and faculty at graduation.
Student and faculty sitting in chairs having a discussion in front of the student's work that hangs in a gallery.
Slide 3 of 9
A student discusses their thesis project with faculty.
Student standing with faculty in the upper levels of Lunder having a discussion about his work that is pinned on the wall.
Slide 4 of 9
Faculty critique a student's work.
Students Marcel and Danielle sitting in class, smiling.
Slide 5 of 9
Two students in class.
Alumni JooYoung Choi standing in front of her work, talking with visitors at her opening.
Slide 6 of 9
Former student JooYoung Choi at her opening.
A group of people with notebooks viewing art work in an art gallery.
Slide 7 of 9
The January 2020 Visual Arts Graduate Exhibition.
Computers in an art gallery on pedestals each with a different image on their screens.
Slide 8 of 9
Student David Reeder's 2018 Thesis.
Three people looking at artwork on a gallery wall.
Slide 9 of 9
The June 2018 Visual Arts Graduate Exhibition.
Student Elyse Kotakis sits on the floor, working on her project.
Slide 1 of 9
A student works on her project.
Students and faculty sitting in chairs in Lunder, clapping during graduation.
Slide 2 of 9
Students and faculty at graduation.
Student and faculty sitting in chairs having a discussion in front of the student's work that hangs in a gallery.
Slide 3 of 9
A student discusses their thesis project with faculty.
Student standing with faculty in the upper levels of Lunder having a discussion about his work that is pinned on the wall.
Slide 4 of 9
Faculty critique a student's work.
Students Marcel and Danielle sitting in class, smiling.
Slide 5 of 9
Two students in class.
Alumni JooYoung Choi standing in front of her work, talking with visitors at her opening.
Slide 6 of 9
Former student JooYoung Choi at her opening.
A group of people with notebooks viewing art work in an art gallery.
Slide 7 of 9
The January 2020 Visual Arts Graduate Exhibition.
Computers in an art gallery on pedestals each with a different image on their screens.
Slide 8 of 9
Student David Reeder's 2018 Thesis.
Three people looking at artwork on a gallery wall.
Slide 9 of 9
The June 2018 Visual Arts Graduate Exhibition.

Learn more about our MFA in Visual Arts

Our flexible, low-residency MFA in Visual Arts program is one of the oldest and most recognized programs of its kind in the country. We are a vibrant community of diverse artists who work with students where they live in a program that’s 80% independent studio work, with residencies on our Cambridge campus twice a year.

29 Everett St, Cambridge, MA 02138
617.868.9600