Georgia Reidy  

MFA Studio Art: Sculpture Applicant  

Queens College 

Graduate Admission Essay 

I am applying to the graduate program at Queens College to refine and expand my sculptural practice through rigorous material investigation and interdisciplinary research. I seek an academic environment that will strengthen my technical skills, clarify my conceptual framework, and advance a materially driven practice grounded in experimentation and process. My approach to making is informed by material labor. I work with reclaimed utility materials alongside clay, wax, light metals, and glass, drawn to their histories of use and structural purpose. By pushing these materials beyond their intended function, I explore the tension between function and non-function, asking what it means to create non-utilitarian work within a culture that prioritizes usefulness and productivity. I am interested in how materials associated with construction and infrastructure can be transformed into objects of softness, adornment, and care. In this way, familiar systems are re-seen not as purely practical, but as sculptural forms embedded in daily life.

Queens College’s commitment to sustaining artists through critical inquiry makes it my first choice. I am drawn to the program’s support of expansive fine art practices and its prioritization of conceptual rigor over commercial outcomes. I plan to contribute meaningfully through engaged studio critique and focused material investigation while expanding both the formal and conceptual dimensions of my work.

My practice has been shaped by nearly five years as a studio assistant to sculptor Tamiko Kawata, where I was trained in metal-weaving techniques and immersed in a discipline grounded in close material attention. This mentorship strengthened my belief in teaching as an extension of artistic practice. Pursuing an MFA will formally prepare me to teach at the collegiate level while continuing to develop a research-driven studio practice. I am eager to engage academic communities through instruction, mentorship, and curriculum-based learning, building a sustainable career that integrates teaching and studio work.

I am especially excited by the opportunity to work in the bronze foundry at Queens College, a facility increasingly rare within graduate programs. My introduction to metal casting began at Marist College and continued at Salem Art Works, where I developed a strong interest in bronze and glass. Since returning to New York City, consistent access to foundry facilities has been limited. Returning to this material with depth and intention would expand both the technical and conceptual scope of my practice, using bronze to explore form and longevity.

I also intend to deepen my engagement with performance and movement-based work, approaching performance as a sensory and spatial extension of sculpture. Dance has long informed my practice, and my continued involvement in the New York City dance community remains central to this exploration. Living and working in New York City has been essential to my development, and Queens College offers the ideal context to further integrate performance, installation, and material research while contributing meaningfully to the academic community.