Alumni

Phil Fung (BA '02), a Chinese-Jamaican-American painter, received word that a panel of judges, consisting of curators from the Guggenheim and the Denver Museum of Contemporary Art, chose his portrait of Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama, to be featured at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. When asked why he painted Senator Obama's portrait, Fung responded, "I think he is the politician my generation has been waiting for. I am a first-generation American of Chinese-Jamaican lineage, and I think Senator Obama has a unique understanding of what that means. I wanted to show my support the best way I knew how; so I painted him!"

Chris Garko, an alumnus from 1993, studied painting working with Ed Love, Mark Messersmith and Trevor Bell, among several others from our prestigious department.

His most recent body of work contains contemporary paintings and assemblages created from oil paint and mixed media.

As of recent, Chris Garko’s work has found international appeal. In 2006, Garko’s work was shown at the “International Juried Art Exhibition” at the Saatchi Gallery in London, England. Since then, in 2007, his art has been shown in Catania, Italy at the “Christopher Micheal Fine Art Gallery.”

For further information, about Chris Garko, please feel free to visit ChrisGarko.com.

Stephen K. Miller, a BFA graduate of Florida State University, died Monday, November 5, 2007 at the age of 59.

Though Miller’s interests were varied, his knack for honing out the superfluous in order to portray his interests with honesty made him a successful and always-growing lifelong student.

He was a photographer, cabinet and furniture maker, home designer and builder.

Miller’s work was selected for exhibits at the Eastman Kodak Gallery in Rochester, N.Y., and both the LeMoyne Art Foundation and Exotica Gallery in Tallahassee.

Michael Wyshock, a 2002 MFA grad, held the "Distinguished Alumni Lecture Series" in 2006 at the Florida State University's Art Department. The lecture focused mainly on his more recent bodies of work at that time, entitled "Pieces of Me” as well as a "Katrina Drawings" series.

Currently, Wyshock is teaching painting at the University of Central Arkansas as a tenure-track Assistant Professor.

Wyshock was also a recipient of a Pollock Krasner Fellowship Award in 2006, which, by definition, provides “financial grants to artists of established ability.”

Digital video has also been used as an extension of Wyshock’s interests in painting. Examples of these can be seen online at www.wyshock.com.