McDaniel exhibition showcases diverse works by four recent Art alumnae

EJ Lee is a mixed media collage artist who is dyslexic and finds reading written text difficult. Her work uncovers the complexities of the English language through poetry from a dyslexic perspective. 

After graduating from McDaniel with a bachelor’s degree in Art and minor in Art History in 2015, she went on to earn a Master of Fine Arts in Interdisciplinary Art from Maine College of Art and Design in 2020. Her work has been featured in “Modern Art Masters in Complex du Louvre 2024,” the 39th annual juried exhibit at The Galleries at Kean University in Union, New Jersey, and “Golden” juried art exhibition at Impact Gallery in Washington, D.C. She currently lives in Baltimore.

“My original poems are cut in the Times New Roman font in phonetic English, thus engaging the viewers to struggle to read and contend with familiarity and a foreign relationship with the text,” said Lee. “Patience is key for the viewer to maintain as they attempt to finish reading the poem before they give up and move on.”

View more information about Lee. 

Caption: "Sharing Over" (detail), 2024, purple, teal, green, yellow paper, white gesso, liquid watercolor, black cut cardstock on canvas, 24" x 48" 

Sarah Méndez of Damascus, Maryland, is a narrative figurative painter whose work focuses on figures, often herself, and her everyday spaces. Her work explores the narrative potential of everyday mundane settings, examining how these spaces shape and reflect her experience as a woman. 

Since graduating from McDaniel in 2024 with a bachelor’s degree in Art, she has exhibited in various local galleries and in both regional and national juried exhibitions. She is planning to apply to graduate school in 2026 to obtain a M.F.A. 

“In a world where women’s bodies are under constant surveillance, my work investigates time and the ways surveillance plays an unprecedented role in our daily lives,” Méndez said.

View more information about Méndez.

Caption: "Self, Observed: toothpaste, coffee, and doubt" (detail), 2025, oil on canvas, 48" x 36" x 2"

A multidisciplinary artist, Quyen Nguyen’s practice explores process art, labor, space, and memory through the transformation of found materials. She draws from her personal history of working in various physical environments, including an Amazon warehouse, military service, and as a nail technician. 

Nguyen of Baltimore received a bachelor’s degree in Art and minor in Art History in 2020. She is currently enrolled in the Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art program at American University.

Nguyen said, “My work is a reflection of labor, space, and memory rooted in the environments I have inhabited and the materials I have encountered. Drawing from my previous workplaces, I combine and transform the found materials to reconstruct the physical and emotional texture of labor… A key to my process is deconstruction and transformation. I shred my old artworks, repurposing them into new pieces, allowing past narratives to be woven into the present.”

Brenay Spencer of Baltimore says she has always had an interest in art and literature since a young age, but it wasn't until college that she started fully immersing herself into art outside of writing poetry and fiction. Her current artistic interests include various media, such as clay, fiber, paint, photography, and writing. In her work, she documents how she navigates life and hopes to relate to people, showing them that they are not alone. 

Spencer, who received a bachelor’s degree in Art with minors in Writing and Publishing and American Sign Language Studies from McDaniel in 2024, is currently a M.F.A. candidate in Studio Art at American University.

“Through mixed media my work explores remembrance, my experience growing into an adult, mental health, and womanhood,” Spencer said.

View more information about Spencer. 

Caption: "Heart problems" (detail), 2023, ceramic