“Where We Ended Up”: 2026 MFA Thesis Exhibition Opens May 1 at the University Art Museum

Where We Ended Up: 2026 MFA Thesis Exhibition features artworks by two NMSU Department of Art MFA Candidates, Arch Jones and Ezekiel Martey. This exhibition opens on May 1, 2026 with an opening reception from 5 – 7 pm and will be on display through May 16, 2026. This two-person show showcases the culmination of both artists’ individual research and development during their time in the NMSU Department of Art graduate program across a variety of media and processes from ceramics and paintings, to found objects and immersive installation.

Left: Arch Jones, Waking Nightmare I, 2026, 4’ x 3’, acrylic and oil pastel. Courtesy of the artist. Right: Ezekiel Martey, Through the System, 2026, Shipping Pallet, Kente cloth. Photography credit: Andrew Williams.

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Meet the Artists

Ezekiel Martey is an artist and MFA Candidate in the Department of Art featured in “Where We Ended Up: 2026 MFA Thesis Exhibition”

Martey’s work reflects his experience moving from Ghana to the United States and how the journey has reshaped his identity. Using materials such as jute sacks, bottle caps, packaging straps, and bicycle rims with other objects associated with movement, Martey explores how migrants navigate between holding onto original cultures while adapting to the new environments as a means of finding stability within multiple cultures. Jute sacks recall his upbringing and the movement of goods across borders; their stamped markings, names, numbers, and destinations recall how migrants are labelled, tracked, and reshaped as they move from place to place. Bottle caps and packaging straps, once part of childhood play and learning, return to the work as reminders of how small, everyday objects quietly influence who we become. Martey’s work extends beyond the notion that migration is merely a change in location. Instead, it portrays migration as an ongoing process where our identities, traditions, language, and culture are continuously reformed.

Left: Again, and Again, 2025, 60” x 72” x 24”, Bicycle wheels, steel, jutesack. Photography credit: Andre Williams; Right: Through the System, 2026, Shipping pallet, Kente cloth. Photography credit: Andrew Williams

Ezekiel Martey is a Ghanaian interdisciplinary artist working across sculpture, installation, jewelry, and metalsmithing. Born and raised in Ghana, Martey earned his BA from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology before moving to the United States for graduate study. Martey has exhibited his work nationally and internationally and has received awards and institutional recognition, including an Honorable Mention from the Society of North American Goldsmiths in 2025. He is currently based in New Mexico, completing his MFA in Jewelry & Metalsmithing at New Mexico State University.

Arch Jones is an artist and MFA Candidate in the Department of Art featured in “Where We Ended Up: 2026 MFA Thesis Exhibition”

Using storytelling to engage with the fears and discomfort white Americans have projected upon BIPOC individuals, Jones’ work employs a framework that manipulates scientific jargon often used in anthropology. His interest lies in how these trusted, though historically biased disciplines, influence our understanding of events and people. To illustrate this, Jones has created the Blood Man (scientific name Homo Rutilus), a fictional offshoot of the hominid family tree that serves as a physical embodiment of those projections. The resulting discomfort challenges the viewer to wrestle with questions of how we should evaluate truth-claims and hidden agendas in the content we consume–especially as we step forward into the horizon of an unknown, AI-powered age.

Left : The “R” Chromosome, 2025, Digital media made with AI Assistance. Image credit: Arch Jones; Rights: Waking Nightmare I, 2026, 4’ x 3’, Acrylic/oil pastel. Image credit: Arch Jones

Originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota, Jones holds a B.A. in Art from St. Cloud State University. Jones has exhibited his work across the country, including California, Colorado, Minnesota, and New Mexico. He has attended workshops at the Highpoint Center for Printmaking and the Anderson Ranch Art Center. He received the President’s Award at the 2024 Juried Student Show at NMSU. The same year, he attended an artist residency at the Fish Factory in Stöðvarfjörður, Iceland and will be attending the Apapacho Residency program in Mexico City in summer 2026.