In Practice
In Practice
October 2, 2026–February 13, 2027
Reilly Gallery
Artist-led Tour & Reception
Thursday, October 15, 5-7 pm
Reilly Gallery
About the Exhibition
Providence College Galleries is proud to present In Practice, on view at Reilly Gallery from October 2, 2026, through February 13, 2027. This group exhibition features recent work by Scott Alario, Jasmin Blackmar, Heather McPherson, Judd Schiffman, Nichole Speciale, Eric Sung, and lexi welch, who teach and work in the Studio Art Department at Providence College.
Working across a range of media, these artists engage varied conceptual frameworks and histories. Each utilizes interdisciplinary modes of research and material investigation, resulting in distinct aesthetic vocabularies. By bringing their work into spatial relation, Reilly Gallery becomes a site for comparing and contrasting ways of making. Connections emerge through proximity, surfacing the potential for myriad interpretations of the objects and ideas.
The exhibition invites one to consider the process and flow of a visual artist’s practice, rooted in the studio and then further developed through ongoing dialog and collaboration with others. Not linear, not transactional, this attitude of reciprocity is crucial in vital creative communities, where ideas, perspectives, and creative practices develop in relation to one another. By bringing together the work of these seven colleagues, In Practice highlights the breadth of expertise found in Providence College’s Studio Art Department and the vibrancy of the creative community they cultivate on campus, throughout Providence’s broader arts ecosystem, and beyond.
In Practice is organized by Carol Stakenas, Director & Chief Curator.
Featured Image: Heather McPherson, Lamination (detail), 2026, Acrylic, ink, and oil on canvas
Gallery Image: Judd Schiffman, I Am With The Self, 2023, porcelain, stoneware, glaze, gold luster
Installation Images
About the Artists
Scott Alario’s photographs and experimental approach to portraiture stem from a collaborative process in which he, his wife, and their children work together to stage and perform each scene. He uses multiple exposure, color separation, and macro lenses, to document the movement and actions of the young members of his family: “I’m looking for: unseeable squirming, shifting, and growth, arms flailing in ecstasy, or light slowly moving across our walls.” The artist is also an accomplished experimental composer. His co-score for Hale County, This Morning, This Evening (2018), directed by RaMell Ross, was the recipient of the Best Music Score award from the 2018 Independent Documentary Association Awards. His works are included in the collections of the RISD Museum, the Colby College Museum of Art, Fidelity Investments Corporate Art Collection, and the SoHo House Art Collection. Press includes, The New Yorker, American Photo, Collector Daily, TIME LightBox, The Providence Journal, and Vice.com. He is represented by Kristin Lorello Gallery. Alario received an MFA in Photography from the Rhode Island School of Design and his BFA from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. He is the Studio Technician for the Art & Art History Department.
Jasmin Blackmar is an artist and accomplished GTM strategy leader, global product executive, and art & technology educator bridging enterprise innovation with creative academia. Utilizing Adobe Photoshop and Animate, Blackmar deconstructs her oil paintings into immersive, motion-driven digital media experiences exploring the boundaries of contemporary visual communication. With over 20 years orchestrating B2B/B2C global services & mobile product deliverables, she holds international patents in multiplayer wagering games and has scaled portfolios across 15+ international jurisdictions. Navigating complex commercial, federal, and government markets, she specializes in competitive narrative architecture for corporate boards and C-suite stakeholders, with a focus on tech ethics and responsible gaming advocacy. Currently, Blackmar is a PhD candidate at Salve Regina University, specializing in the Ethics of Technology. Blackmar is Visiting Faculty in the Studio Art Department.
Heather McPherson’s practice includes painting, drawing, and resin-based work. Emphasizing durational processes, she explores how materials record accumulation and absorption. Her recent work considers how surfaces carry traces of memory and affect, creating conditions for thought to unfold while delaying resolution. Recent exhibitions include Giorgio at Distillery Gallery (Boston, MA) What Would Artist Do (Providence, RI), Below the Thin at Take It Easy (Atlanta, GA), and How to Be Both at Overlap Gallery (Newport, RI), as well as exhibitions at Below Grand, Kristen Lorello, and 315 Gallery in New York City. Her work has also been presented with the RISD Museum, Vox Populi (Philadelphia, PA) and deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum (Lincoln, MA). A recipient of a 2026 Interlace Project Grant, McPherson will show work from Painting as Absorption at OPEN in Providence in early 2027. She holds an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. McPherson is an Associate Professor of Painting.
Judd Schiffman is a Providence-based artist working primarily in ceramics. His work has been exhibited throughout the United States, most recently at Headstone Gallery (Kingston, NY) and Emerson Dorsch Gallery (Miami, FL) as well as the University of Colorado Art Museum (Boulder, CO). Schiffman has lectured at Harvard University Ceramics, Brown University, SUNY New Paltz, and UMass Dartmouth, and participated in residencies at the Zentrum Fur Keramiks (Berlin, Germany), Millay Arts (Austerlitz, NY), and Arch Contemporary (Tiverton, RI). In 2016, he received an emerging artists award from the National Council for the Education of Ceramic Arts (NCECA), and in 2025, he received the Hopper Prize. Schiffman holds an MFA in Ceramics from CU Boulder, Post-Baccalaureate in Ceramics from UMass Dartmouth, and BA from Prescott College in Holistic Health. Schiffman is an Assistant Professor of Ceramics and is represented by Headstone Gallery.
Nichole Speciale is an artist and gardener working in collections care and exhibition management. Her work explores themes of natural phenomena, micro/macrocosms, materiality, and perception most recently using the garden as a site for research. She specializes in collections care with over 12 years of experience in public art conservation, book preservation and arts administration. She volunteers with the Master Gardeners and Food Recovery for Rhode Island through URI Cooperative Extension. Speciale holds an MFA from University of California, San Diego and a dual BA in Studio Art and Art History from Brandeis University. Speciale is the PCG Exhibitions & Collections Manager.
Eric Sung is a lens-based artist whose interdisciplinary practice explores photography, place, memory, and community through socially engaged art. Working across photographic image-making, installation, archives, and collaborative public projects, he examines the relationships between people, culture, and the spaces they inhabit. Sung’s work has been exhibited internationally in galleries, exhibitions, and public spaces. His community-based art projects have received support from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the Mellon Foundation, the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, the Providence Department of Art, Culture and Tourism (ACT), and the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (RISCA). He was appointed by the Mayor of Providence to serve as a Commissioner on the Arts in City Life Commission, serves on the Board of Directors of the Society for Photographic Education (SPE) and the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities, and a partner at College Unbound. Sung is Full Professor of Photography and Chair of the Department of Art & Art History.
lexi welch works with image, sculpture, sound and text. Their work deprioritizes visibility, pursuing vibration and reflection, framing low frequencies as a sonic logic of deviant life. Current projects include an essay series on self-immolation; a two-channel audio work scored for a parking lot; and a film set at the threshold to hell. Ambivalence, negation, and homoerotics structure these inquiries. Their work has been exhibited at Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA); OPEN (Providence, RI); Microscope Gallery (New York, NY); The Byrd Theater (Richmond, VA); in FENCE Magazine’s Steaming Series; and on Wave Farm’s WGXC 90.7FM radio. welch holds an MFA from the University of Pennsylvania, a BA in Film and Electronic Arts from Bard College, and attended Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in 2022. welch is Assistant Professor of Sculpture and Design.
Supporters
Funding for the exhibition is generously provided by Providence College’s Division of Academic Affairs, with additional in-kind support by the Department of Art & Art History.
