Closing Reception This Friday for Lily Hofstrom’s Senior Art Exhibit

Lily Hofstrom, a senior from Owensboro, Kentucky, is the sole artist featured in the Fall 2025 Senior Art Exhibition at University of the Cumberlands. A closing reception for Lily’s exhibition will take place this Friday, Dec. 5, from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Luecker Art Gallery, located in the Luecker Building on the university’s main campus. Admission is free and open to the public.  

The exhibition features a selection of paintings and works on paper, including pieces from Lily’s previous coursework, as well as a new series created specifically for the event.  

According to Lily, her newest work combines photography and mixed-media painting to explore the emotional charge of ordinary moments.  

“The three core pieces of my exhibit show my interest in the tension between the controlled nature of photography and the spontaneity of graffiti-influenced mark-making,” Lily explained. “With this work, I aim to capture the way memory, identity, and emotion overlap, blur, and reshape each other.”  

Lily also took a moment to walk us through her unique process.  

“I begin by taking portrait photographs and editing them in Photoshop to isolate gestures, expressions, and forms that feel expressive,” she explained. “These printed portraits become physical elements I cut out, arrange, and adhere to the canvas using acrylic medium, allowing them to sit slightly raised from the painted surface.”  

She builds each background with layered spray paint and acrylic, creating atmospheric fields of color, drips, and texture that stand in contrast to the realism of the figures. After adhering the portraits, she adds more spray paint, acrylic, and oil-based paint markers using symbols, lines, and graphic marks to bridge the figure with its abstract surroundings. 

“My imagery often emerges from instinct and experimentation rather than strict planning,” she added.  

Lily’s instinct pays off, displayed in the striking collection of paintings featured in her senior exhibit.  

“Lily’s work brings together her interests in painting, photography, and graphics tied together with a graffiti sensibility,” explained Dr. Russell Weedman, chair of the art department. “Lily has been a standout student in many ways throughout her time at Cumberlands, and the art department is proud of the fine work she has done in preparation for her exhibit.”  

The closing reception on Friday is the final opportunity to view Lily’s compelling and personal body of work. This collection reflects both artistic growth and the creative spirit found at Cumberlands.