Our accomplished faculty at the George Mason University School of Art bring real-world experience to our dynamic learning environment. Engaging in impactful research and creative practices, our faculty actively contribute to the visual arts through museum exhibitions, public art installations, screenings, book arts, scholarly publications, and diverse forms of graphic design. Discover the latest updates in Director Zoë Charlton's welcome letter, highlighting the faculty's commitment to art for social change.
Elizabeth Hall
In late summer 2023, Professor Elizabeth Hall's work Veriditas IV (above) was featured in Enuma Okoro’s article Let the Dance Go On, in the Life and Art section of the Financial Times. The author came across Professor Halll's work while researching her article on the verdancy of summer and the human need to connect with and maintain such vital energy.
Andy Yoder
Through the end of 2023, professor Andy Yoder's exhibition, Overboard, will be on view at Tysons Corner shopping center. The 250 sculptures riffing off Nike Air Jordan 5s are connected to the 1990 story of when more than 80,000 pairs of those Nike shoes and work boots fell into the Pacific Ocean en route to the U.S. from South Korea during a storm.
J. Carrier
Assistant Professor and photographer J. Carrier's second major monograph (and 7th book) Mi’raj will be published by Brooklyn based imprint TIS Books. The book launched in November 2023 at Polycopies Festival held during the annual Paris-Photo week in Paris, France. Begun in 2011, the project is the culmination of several years’ work made in Palestine and Israel inspired by Al-Isra wal Mi’raj – the ascension of the Prophet Muhammad. Visiting Faculty Fellow Abdulrahman Naanseh created the calligraphy used on the cover and interior.
Brian Davis
In the fall of 2023, Professor Brian Davis created an installation called Reconciliation (Disco), that combined field recordings, snippets of music recorded in the studio, and found audio. The work empowered the users to explore and create a soundscape that connects to other places, times, and experiences. Learn more about the installation.
Reconciliation (Disco), by Professor Brian Davis, Fall, 2023, at Mason Exhibitions Arlington
Justin Plakas
Artist, designer and Term Assistant Professor, Justin Plakas (above) has an extensive exhibition record. His latest exhibition, It'll Do Till It Gets Here (2023), at Levee Contemporary, Wisconsin, featured new paintings and sculpture works by the artist. This collection of vibrant and playful works serves as a reflection on the interconnected themes of loss, love, the transformative journey of new parenthood, and the power of memory.
Sue Wrbican
Full Professor, Sue Wrbican, was one of 10 artists who participated in Bodies We Inhabit and Doctrine of Signatures, at NARS Foundation in Brooklyn, named one of 20 shows to see in New York in the Spring of 2023. Professor Wrbican has an MFA in Photography from the Rhode Island School of Design and a BA in Poetry from the University of Pittsburgh.
Doris "Reece" Quiñones
Professor Doris "Reece" Quiñones Named One of Graphic Design USA's 2021 People to Watch. According to Graphic Design USA, the accolade goes to someone who embodies the spirit of the creative community and is an individuals known and respected for a combination of talent, success, leadership, newsworthiness, influence, and community service.
Read Doris "Reece" Quiñones' Bio
Alan Caballero LaZare
Alan Caballero LaZare is a Colombian American designer, artist, and educator and an Assistant Professor at School of Art where he teaches Graphic Design History and Visual Communication Theory. His work is centered on community engagement and reimagining design history pedagogy to be more inclusive, plural, and empowering for students in the classroom. Alan's essay, The Road to Flores de María, will be published by AIGA in the next issue of Shifted. It tells the story of his collaboration with community leaders to establish a foundation that helped school children in a secluded Colombian pueblo, located close to where his family has resided for generations. With the money they raised from the fundraiser, they bought clothes, toys, books, and over-the-counter medicine for the children.
His essay, Changing the Paradigm for How Graphic Design Histories are Taught, was published on the People’s Graphic Design Archive and shares his experience of teaching design history to the diverse student body at George Mason.
Ana Farnham
AWARDS
2022 Society for Experiential Graphic Design Global Design
2023 Silver indigo design award
PRESENTATIONS
2022 Society for Experiential Graphic Design Conference
2022 Society for Experiential Graphic Design Education Summit
2023 Society for Experiential Graphic Design Riga Chapter Virtual Design & Research Conference
PUBLICATIONS
Contributed to Media Architecture Biennale Provocations Publication (2023)
JURIES
2023 AIGA World studio Scholarship Jury
2023 Society for Experiential Graphic Design Global Design award Jury