(Dis)comfort: 2023 MFA Exhibition

February 16, 2023 - March 10, 2023

Location: UCF Art Gallery

(Dis)comfort navigates constructed human experiences, environments, and practices meant to soothe the existential discomfort integral to the lived experience. This exhibition showcases the thesis work of three Master of Fine Arts candidates in the Studio Art & Design MFA track at the UCF School of Visual Arts and Design.

Leeann Rae utilizes charcoal and soft pastel to dissect our understanding of episodic memory. Brittney Fucheck is a multidisciplinary artist who navigates coming to terms with death through appreciation, acknowledgment, and collaboration with nature. Gretchen Smith’s paintings explore ecological thought and constructed human experience to contextualize the climate crisis. Through distinctive inquiry and individual lenses, each artist assembles individual views that converges to see past societal constructs meant to give comfort.

Virtual Gallery


The following graduate students will present public thesis defenses to support their research and creative practice. These talks will take place in the UCF Art Gallery and virtually via Zoom.

  • Gallery Talk / Thesis Defense by Leeann Rae | Wednesday 2/22 | 2:30-4:30 p.m.
    “Remembered Spaces: Navigating How Memory is Perceived Through Drawing”
    View Recording: https://youtu.be/CI2kdg3yEXc
  • Gallery Talk / Thesis Defense by Brittney Fucheck | Tuesday 2/28 | 3-5 p.m.
    “With Silk, Sage, and Bones: confronting death and dying through a ritualistic art practice”
    View Recording: https://youtu.be/Elb2ZNMuo_o