Shemin Auditorium, Shaffer Art Building
Syracuse University, Syracuse

Rani Som is inspired by the grammar of comics and graphic novels, seeking to expand the vocabulary of the narratives traditionally presented in this medium by exploring themes of gender, sexuality, memory and urbanism. On a formal level, some of Som's pieces conflate the tools of architectural representation with those of sequential narrative in order to question these very methods and offer new means of representing space, time and the role of the body in both simultaneously.

Shemin Auditorium, Shaffer Art Building
Syracuse University, Syracuse

Todd Conover is an associate professor in the fashion design program, a position he has held since 1995. During his career at Syracuse University, Conover has been responsible for teaching many of the design and technical classes in the program.

Fashion, illustration, graphics and fine art have always been a part of Conover's visual vocabulary, and he likes to work in a variety of traditional mediums in conjunction with digital technology. "My work tends to focus on fashion, style and the evolution of emotion towards form, color, pattern and line," he says.

Additionally, Conover is a nationally recognized art jeweler and metalsmith, designing and producing one-of-a-kind art jewelry pieces that reside in private collections worldwide. His works are shown nationally in museum and gallery shows.

Shemin Auditorium, Shaffer Art Building
Syracuse University, Syracuse

Orion Wertz, professor of fine art in painting at Columbus State University, was born and raised in Pittsburgh. The derelict industry and forested hills of the region left an impression that reappears in his artwork.

Wertz studied painting at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where he received a bachelor's degree. He went on to study at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, where he received a master's degree and taught painting and drawing. In spite of his interest in the Chicago art scene, Wertz decided to leave the Midwest and move to New York City. He has exhibited paintings, drawings and sculptures in a variety of venues and has produced several comic books.

Shemin Auditorium, Shaffer Art Building
Syracuse University, Syracuse

Ruben Castillo is a visual artist and educator investigating themes of intimacy, queerness, archival history and the body using a range of media including print, drawing, installation, sculpture and video. His most recent imagery draws from photographs and documents, seeing the ordinary as a site for transformative potentials and connections.