WILLIAM PATERSON UNIVERSITY
Visual Art MFA Exhibitions

Jonte' Silver is a visual artist, born and raised in Paterson, New Jersey. He received his BFA from William Paterson University in 2018. As an undergraduate, he studied fine arts and graphic design. His work  has been exhibited and won awards in William Paterson's student art exhibitions. He is inspired by his experiences as a young African American male and as an artist. Over the past few years, his work has been driven by themes regarding to black  identity, spirituality and social justice issues. He is currently earning his MFA from William Paterson and will be graduating in May 2021.

I grew up in Centereach on long island, NY. I received a dual Bachelor of Fine Arts in Ceramics and Sculpture at Fredonia State University. I’m a multidisciplinary artist working in 3D Digital sculpture, traditional sculpture, Painting, and drawing. I am currently a candidate for an MFA at William Paterson university in New jersey and I have an assistantship for the center in new arts. 

Sarah Van Vliet was born in 1992 in New Jersey. She is an artist and an art educator in the New Jersey public school system. From an early age she found an interest in creating art, building her skills throughout her high school career. Sarah graduated from Monmouth University with a BA in Art Education and is currently attending William Paterson University for her MFA. While she has been able to explore many mediums at WPUNJ, the work in this exhibit consists of oil paintings on canvas and ceramic sculptures. 

Richard Franco was born in the summer of 1949 on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.  He always wanted to be an artist.  He loved to paint.  He was accepted to the special New York high schools of Music and Art and Art and Design but due to family pressure he went instead to the neighborhood high school.  After graduation he majored in art at CCNY but he dropped out after a few years.

He drifted from job to job and lived in a dozen different places.  Where ever he lived he kept a space for his art.  He always had at least a corner of a room dedicated to painting and drawing.  He finally settled in to a clerical position at the Post Office.  The steady salary enabled him to go back to school.  By taking one class a semester he finally earned his BFA at Montclair State University after twenty three years.  He is now retired from the Post Office and he is enrolled in the Graduate Art program at William Paterson University.

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His interest is in creating abstract images.  He feels that although he loves all art, most representational art only reinforces people’s personal notions of reality.  Abstract art, on the other hand, forces the viewer to use their imagination and invites them to worlds they might not have ever imagined.  He believes that this contributes to the evolution of the collective consciousness, and he hopes that it will be for the better.

Jeremy Fuscaldo was born in Bayonne, NJ before moving to Bergen County, New Jersey. He was a graduate from Nyack College in 2015 and was a continuing education student at School of Visual Arts where he studied illustration and animation. In 2018, he became a Graduate Student at William Paterson University where he was awarded a graduate assistantship.

Jennifer Marie Hammer was born in Austria, emigrating to the United States at the young age of three. Growing up in an immigrant household left her never quite feeling in touch with a specific identity, torn between two cultures, not feeling an active participant in either. It is here where her love of the arts sprung. When raised in an environment where one does not feel at home, one must manufacture their own. It is her wish to inspire others to realize the rich inner worlds that may be experienced when one simply takes the time to look inside. Jennifer has participated in art walks in Fair Lawn, NJ, has been shown at William Paterson University’s Student Art Exhibition and is currently pursuing her MFA a William Paterson University.

Taylor Cacici is a born and bred North Jersey portrait and figurative artist. He obtained his BFA degree in the Spring of 2019 from New Jersey City University. While there, he received The Herbert Rosenberg Scholarship and graduated magna cum laude. Currently residing in Bayonne, Taylor is attending the MFA program at William Paterson University in his hometown of Wayne. He was awarded a graduate assistantship at the University Galleries of William Paterson University. Taylor began his artistic journey at the age of 23 and has since fully dedicated himself to the study, practice and exploration of every peril and reward that comes with the life of a practicing artist.

Born in New Jersey in 1997. Helene received her BFA with a concentration in painting from Mason Gross School of Art and Design at Rutgers University in May of 2019.  Accomplished in printmaking, drawing, and photography Helene has been featured in several shows and exhibits.

Melissa Silvestri is a spiritual artist from New Jersey. She received her BA in Art and Art Education from Rowan University in Spring of 2015. While at Rowan, she hosted her own exhibition titled “Transcendence” and received the “Rodney E Gates Award” for excellence in Art Education. Afterwards, she began teaching at Mount Olive Middle School where she she teaches both regular and gifted and talented students grades 6th-8th. In December 2019, she was chosen to participate in “Artist of the Month” at Gallery on Main in Somerville New Jersey, where she presented and sold a variety of original works and prints of drawings and paintings. She is currently enrolled William Paterson University’s MFA program to pursue her art career.

Linda Steinhardt Majzner is an MFA student at William Paterson University in NJ. She holds an MA degree (1989) in Fine Arts, Painting from Montclair State University, and a BA degree(1976) in Fine Arts with a minor in Art History and Art Education, from Queens College, NYC. She has taught art for thirty-four years in private and public schools throughout NJ. She is recently retired from Livingston High School. She is a member of Studio Montclair and has exhibited in many of their art shows. Her work has been in shows in New Jersey, New York and beyond. Some of the shows she has participated in, are The New Jersey Center for Visual Arts, The NJ Arts Annual of Crafts and The George Segal Gallery at Montclair State University. Ms. Steinhardt Majzner resides in Caldwell, NJ with her husband and has raised three sons and now enjoys her eight (so far) grand-children.

Being an artist was not a decision that I made or a path I chose to walk through. The artist inside me was a baby whom I was pregnant with for years. I just took good care of him.  Finally, he was born healthy and strong. Gradually, he learnt how to walk and find his way on his own. Currently,  I am enjoying my journey, as he was generous enough to take me along.