Graduate Profiles
Benjamin Peary (MFA 2023)
Benjamin Pearey (he/him, b.1995) was born and raised in Essex, England. He received his BA from the University for the Creative Arts in 2018, before moving to London where he joined Studio Manifold. He has exhibited both in the UK and in China, including New Horizons at Coast Gallery, Zhuhai, and Play! Design at Beijing Times Art Museum, Beijing. Ben’s practice is introspective. Recent works have used the slab form as a consistent framework within which he can experiment aggressively and freely. Each slab becomes a discrete record of both the technical processes involved in its formation and his thoughts or feelings from that particular time.
Ana Buitrago (MFA 2024)
Ana Buitrago is an artist and designer from Bogota, Colombia. She has a BFA from the Art Institute of Chicago and currently pursuing an MFA in ceramics at the University of Arkansas. Her practice is focused on ceramic objects that are inspired by Pre-Columbian cultures and modern infrastructure. Buitrago is interested in challenging the viewer by manipulating materials such as clay to create a new understanding of form and surface. Interrogating what it means to live with an object, Buitrago transforms sculptural forms into functional pieces with an emphasis on geometry, symmetry and balance. Ana has exhibited nationally and internationally in Belgium, France, Netherlands, Ecuador, Mexico and Colombia.
Vincent Frimpong (MFA 2024)
Vincent Frimpong was born and raised in Ghana. Over the course of his life he’s been exploring the question ‘What does it mean to be an African?’ Affirming the core of African power within himself and others, permeates everything he does and all that he represents. His objects and installations at once draw upon history and simultaneously comment on the present. He has embraced mixed media processes to express and explore ideas regarding the richness of African history and pressing contemporary concerns addressing where we come from, where we are and where we are going.
Jocelyn Reid (MFA 2025)
Jocelyn Reid is a ceramic and mixed media artist from Mohkinstsis (Calgary), Alberta, Canada. Reid received her Bachelor’s Degree from the Alberta College of Art and Design in 2013 and has participated in residencies in Canada, Europe, and the USA. She is currently a first-year graduate student in ceramics at the University of Arkansas.
Carletta Williams (MFA 2025)
Being born and raised in the South, Carletta has formed a strong connection to southern motifs and daily life while being Black. Her current collective of work reflects the present society while reckoning with the events of the past. She sets out to recreate moments of celebration and gathering, while also recognizing the toll of living in an oppressive space harboring feelings of both grief and celebration. Carletta obtained her BA in Studio Art from Wesleyan College this past spring and has been recognized nationally as a Regina Brown and Multicultural Fellow by the National Council on Education in Ceramics Arts.
