Beyond the Studio: Mount Students Meet Their Professors’ Art in the Museum
12/11/2025
Students Reflect on Mount Faculty’s Showcase at the Hudson River Museum’s Acclaimed DRAW: Heat Exhibition
The University of Mount Saint Vincent and the Hudson River Museum share more than a view of the river—they share a commitment to art, community, and the creative histories that shape the Hudson Valley and the Bronx. This Fall, that connection deepened when Assistant Professor of Digital Media Rafael Domenech and Assistant Professor of Studio Art Thomas Ray Willis were featured in the museum’s major exhibition, DRAW: Heat on view through January 11, 2026.
DRAW: Heat brings together forty-three contemporary artists from across the United States, including many from Westchester County and the Hudson Valley region, to explore the theme of “heat” in both literal and metaphorical ways. The exhibition examines subjects ranging from global warming to the intensity of creative energy, showcasing drawing as a dynamic, experimental, and immersive medium. Works include sketches, prints, murals, sculptures, and projections—arranged salon-style to inspire dialogue across artistic practices.
Curated by Tomas Vu, with advisors Brian Novatny, Predrag Dimitrijevic, and Laura Vookles of the Hudson River Museum, the exhibition features internationally recognized figures such as William Kentridge, Shirin Neshat, Kiki Smith, Sarah Sze, Rirkrit Tiravanija, and Kara Walker, alongside local and emerging artists. DRAW: Heat is part of the ongoing DRAW Project, an artist-led initiative celebrating the process and power of drawing.
Professors Domenech and Willis brought their students to visit the exhibition on November 20, 2025 to experience the show firsthand. For the students, many of whom are aspiring artists, the field trip became an introspective moment.
“Experiencing it [the exhibit] in a professional setting helped me better conceptualize the advice my professor has been teaching me,” said Louis Vidal ’27, a visual arts and experimental media major. “Everything started to make sense.” Louis added that hearing his professors explain their process in the gallery “helped me realize how much artists pay attention to every detail…not just what they put on the canvas, but how and why.”
“Seeing it [the exhibit] in person helped me learn about how talented my professors are…and how possible it is for artists to grow throughout their lives,” said Serena Duran ’26, a studio art major. “So much of the time, the world kills artists’ dreams, but seeing my professors in the museum was the most inspiring experience.”
“When I saw my professors’ work in the museum, I was very impressed,” shared Maybelline Prado Paredes ’29, a nursing major. “I noticed things like texture, colors, and little details that I never saw in the classroom. It made their work feel more serious, and it was cool to see them as actual artists, not just professors. Seeing their art next to other professional artists made me realize that everyone has their own style, and that’s what makes the art good. It made me want to put more effort into my ideas and actually try to create something that reflects me.”
Together, the two Mount faculty members demonstrated their range and how they, as two local artists, could reach a larger platform, which sparked pride among their students.
“What surprised me was the large scale of my professors’ work, but even more so the sense of pride I felt seeing it displayed front and center,” added Louis.
“After seeing how Professor Willis was selected to be part of a museum, my first emotions were just happiness and support,” said Serena. “I am very proud to call him my professor…seeing his piece in the museum was mesmerizing and I was frozen in awe for a while. His piece also showed me and my classmates how much he has grown as a person as well, which is something we don’t really see in the classroom or from our professors.”
For Professor Willis, drawing is both an act of creation and confrontation. His featured work, “Will the Circle Be Unbroken (Nearest Objects Reprised),” returns to a process that has defined his practice over ten years ago—drawing with fire and smoke.
“This piece is built from the objects of my family’s life—beer cans, crucifixes, figurines, and other belongings both cherished and disposable,” said Professor Willis. “Burned into six panels of watercolor paper, they form a large mandala-like circle that repeats, spins, and fractures. Through this pattern, I ask whether cycles of poverty, addiction, and resilience that marked my upbringing can remain unbroken.”
Within DRAW: Heat, his work engages the concept of heat in both literal and symbolic ways.
“The burn marks recall the Nevada desert sun I grew up under and the fire that once damaged my mom’s home,” Professor Willis reflected. “By burning these images into paper, I turn an act of destruction into a record of lived experience—a place where pain and persistence exist side by side.”
Professor Willis, who grew up in southern Nevada, earned his BFA in painting from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and his MFA from New York University. His works are included in the Museum of Modern Art Archives, Whitney Museum Library, New York Public Library, Printed Matter, and with the Art Production Fund. Before joining Mount Saint Vincent, he taught at the Rhode Island School of Design, NYU Steinhardt, and Bentley University.
Professor Domenech’s practice explores how artworks exist within a broader ecosystem—spanning the studio, the institution, and the world beyond.
“I’m interested in how an exhibition can be an active machine for production rather than a repository space,” Professor Domenech explained. “Each object collides in space, connected through physical or theoretical relationships that extend beyond the aesthetic.”
His architectural interventions often incorporate publishing methodologies—cutting, redacting, revising, and circulating—to amplify the possibilities of research and display. Professor Domenech’s work has been exhibited internationally at the Passerelle Centre d’Art Contemporain in France, The Bass Museum, Sculpture Center, Storefront for Art and Architecture, ASE Foundation in Shanghai, and the Asia Society Texas. His works are held in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Gallery of Art, Pérez Art Museum Miami, The Bass, and the Carnegie Museum of Art.
The Mount is proud to celebrate Professors Domenech and Willis for their contributions in this major exhibition, which highlights the Mount’s growing presence in the regional and national arts landscape.
DRAW: Heat on is view through January 11, 2026. The Hudson River Museum will host a Meet the Artists of DRAW: Heat event on Sunday, December 14, 2025, offering visitors the chance to speak directly with featured artists, including regional contributors to the exhibition. The informal gallery event is free with museum admission and provides a unique opportunity to learn more about the creative processes behind the works on view.
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About the University of Mount Saint Vincent
Founded in 1847 by the Sisters of Charity, the University of Mount Saint Vincent offers a nationally recognized liberal arts education and a select array of professional fields of study on a landmark campus overlooking the Hudson River. Committed to the education of the whole person, and enriched by the unparalleled cultural, educational, and career opportunities of New York City, the University equips students with the knowledge, skills, and experiences necessary for lives of achievement, professional accomplishment, and leadership in the 21st century.