On Friday, September 12, 2025, the 2nd-year MFA cohort took part in an international group crit! Alfred professors Stephanie McMahon, Patrick Brennan, and John Hee Taek Chae made the journey from Alfred, NY, to Düsseldorf, Germany, to join Düsseldorf professors Jutta Haeckel and Stefan Kürten to group critique our work. Alongside the input from the students, it was an intense and insightful session; we discussed content, aesthetics, and installation. As any Alfred graduate painting student can attest, the concerns of art differ between continents. In Alfred, theory and content get their due; in Düsseldorf, aesthetics becomes an elevated concern. The dichotomy between the concerns of American art education and German art student education provides a well-rounded catalyst to consider our work in different contexts.

📸 Max Heaton