About
Jason Rafferty is an Applied Assistant Professor of 2D Visual Art at The University of Tulsa. He received his MFA from the University of Georgia, his BFA from the University of North Carolina Asheville, and he studied at Studio Escalier in Paris, France.
A multidisciplinary artist working in painting, drawing, digital art, printmaking, artist books and collage, his exhibitions include The Painting Center in New York, NY, Czong Institute for Contemporary Art in Gimpo-si, South Korea, the Athenaeum in Athens, GA, Vestige Concept Gallery in Pittsburgh, PA, and Artfields in Lake City, SC. His work was selected as a finalist for the AXA Art Prize by curators Ian Alteveer (The Metropolitan Museum of Art), Harry Cooper (The National Gallery of Art), Rita Gonzalez (The Los Angeles County Museum of Art) and Ashley James (The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum of Art).
Jason’s artwork stems from his ongoing engagement with climate and sustainability advocacy, exploring experimental visual narratives of the renewable energy transition. He enjoys bridging the arts with regional nonprofits oriented toward social and environmental justice, and is always seeking out new opportunities to collaborate and build community through creativity.
Awards
The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant (Montreal, CA)
AXA Art Prize – Finalist (New York, NY)
Pouch Cove Foundation Invitational Residency (Newfoundland, CA)
Lonnie Eugene Stewart Award of Excellence – GALEX National Competition and Exhibition (Galesburg, IL)
The Wilson Center Graduate Research Award – The University of Georgia
University Research Scholar Award – UNC Asheville
Education
- MFA, University of Georgia
- Dissertation: “Possible Landscapes: Emotional Narratives of Climate Change and The Sustainability Transition”
- BFA, The University of North Carolina Asheville
Research interests and areas of expertise
- Contemporary painting
- Drawing
- 2D design
- Interdisciplinary studio practices
- Narrative and identity in studio art
- Figurative visual art
- Sustainability and art
- Emerging material substrates in studio practice
- Collage
- Assemblage
- Hybrid painting