Beverly & Sam Ross Gallery

SEAN LATIF HEISER: Time is a Hearer

November 7, 2025 – January 9, 2026

Using abstraction as a framework, Sean Heiser’s paintings shift between imagined landscapes and architectures, often using symbolism and abstracted imagery collected from life as a way to insert his own lived-experience and memories into broader compositions.

Sean Latif Heiser (b.1990) is a Malaysian-born artist living and working in Brooklyn, NY. He received his BFA from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2017 and his MFA from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville in 2023. In 2023, he was invited to hotelpupik, an international artist residency program in Schiefling, Austria. He was an MFA Live/Work residency fellow at Loghaven Residency in Knoxville, TN, in 2022, and in 2019 was a resident at Anderson Center in Redwing, Minnesota. He has exhibited work internationally, with recent exhibitions at Arcade Arts, Nashville, TN, Ortega Y Gasset Projects in Brooklyn, NY, hotelpupik in Schiefling, Austria, and The Alice Wilds in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His work was published in New American Paintings in 2022.

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

I approach painting as a place to mix form and color with thought, memory, fantasy, and reality. I’m interested in the idea of world-building, and how non-objective painting can be used in ways that are resonant of, and shift between, landscapes, architectures, and the subjective. I continue to be concerned with the act of looking and its relationship to perception and imagination. and dreaming. I see painting as a mediary between myself and less certain things.

KATELYN COBB | Soulaan: Not a Monolith

December 12, 2025 – February 16, 2026 | Reception December 12 • 5:00 – 7:00 pm

This exhibition challenges the stereotype that Black culture is singular, uniform, or easily categorized. It presents Soulaan as a living, adaptive force formed through history, survival, and reinvention. At first glance, the work mirrors the aesthetics of modern consumer culture: clean lines, bold colors, familiar fashion imagery, and the visual language of Gen Z and its’ transformation from millennial business casual. But beneath the surface of trend and consumption lies a deeper narrative; one born from exclusionary systems, dress codes, adaptation, and the transformation of necessity into influence. What appears to be about what we buy is, in truth, about how we survive, express, and define ourselves.

ARTIST BIO

Born in Memphis, Tennessee and currently based in Southaven, Mississippi, Katelyn Cobb is a
graphic designer pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design at Christian Brothers University.
Her work is driven by a deep interest in visual identity, branding, and poster design, with a
growing fascination for bold compositions and expressive typography.

Early in her academic journey, her preference for colorful, unconventional, and energetic design
often stood apart in spaces that favored speed and uniformity. Over time, that difference
became her strength. Today, her work embraces the shift away from strict minimalism and
toward layered, expressive, and visually rich design—where “more” is not excess, but intention.
Katelyn approaches each project with curiosity, experimentation, and a strong sense of purpose.
She is especially interested in creating work that stands out, tells stories, and challenges visual
norms. Her goal is to work within a creative agency environment where she can continue to
grow, refine her voice, and build impactful visual experiences through real-world collaboration

The Beverly + Sam Ross Gallery is located on the lower level of Plough Memorial Library in the center of campus on the Buckman Quadrangle, easily accessible from the Central Avenue parking lot and the East Parkway entrance. All exhibits are free and open to the public.

CONTACT

Scott A. Carter, MFA
Assistant Professor and Gallery Coordinator • (901) 321-3243 • scarte20@cbu.edu