Studio Arts

In developing visual and interpretive skills we encourage students to take a multidisciplinary approach to their studies so that they can acquire the conceptual and technical skills essential to produce compelling, evocative work.

Art making is a wondrous act of combining the intellect with the intuition. The program in Studio Art in the Department of Visual and Performing Arts focuses on students’ creative inquiry in ways that guide the development of a personal vision and the ability to envision a future. Our faculty help each student gain the skills and competence to express these visions.

Fundamental studies of technique and theory, as well as an understanding of the larger context of contemporary practice, enable students to solve complex visual, formal, and theoretical problems. Throughout the undergraduate experience, students are encouraged to produce and exhibit their own work, to engage in discussions with faculty and peers, to study art history, art theory, and critical analysis, and finally, to understand the uniqueness of their own visual language to prepare for a career.

Art is something that is lived as well as created, and artists can contribute to society in multiple ways: as exhibiting professional artists, designers, collectors, museum professionals, scholars, activists, and educators. Our majors and minors experience the intimacy of a small art community while benefiting from the broad range of liberal arts courses that Fairfield University provides all undergraduate students. Our faculty provides instruction and guidance in drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, installation, time-based arts and digital art. In developing visual and interpretive skills we encourage students to take a multidisciplinary approach to their studies so that they can acquire the conceptual and technical skills essential to produce compelling, evocative work.