Throughout the semester, we’re shining a light on the Art Department’s graduating MFA candidates as they present their final thesis exhibitions. These exhibitions are the culmination of years of dedicated study and artistic exploration, showcasing our students’ diverse talents and innovative approaches to art-making.
Matt Bruhn creates furniture and sculptural objects that “exist between function and autonomy.” A dyslexic artist, Bruhn describes first understanding the world through spatial reasoning, touch, and play, drawing a connection between childhood building blocks and his current hands-on practice. Working primarily in woodworking, he uses traditional craft methodologies to create forms — zigzags, squiggles, and varied structures — and explores how they relate through connections and composition.
Bruhn’s thesis exhibition, “13 Pretty Things,” will be on view April 7–12 in Gallery 7 on the seventh floor of the Humanities Building. A reception, which is free and open to the public, will take place on Friday, April 10, from 5–8 p.m.
We asked Bruhn to share more about his work: