SMFA's Traveling Fellowship program was created shortly after the School's founding in 1876 to encourage post-graduate travel and independent work for select SMFA artists. Ten artists were awarded Traveling Fellowships in 2012, traveling to diverse locations such as Austria, China, Norway, Peru and Turkey. Earlier this month, Boston-based artist Evelyn Rydz (Master of Fine Arts, 2005) was selected from this group of 10 by the Fellowship review committee for a solo presentation at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA) April 19–October 26, 2014.

Rydz creates detailed drawings based on her photographs from various coastlines of lost and discarded objects that have washed ashore. Focused on the narratives these found objects have gathered on their journeys, Rydz explores the history and possible interconnection between these displaced objects. During the Fellowship, Rydz traveled to Kamilo Beach in Hawaii, which is known for its accumulation of debris and garbage from the Pacific Ocean. She collected samples, filmed video and took photographs. Her new work will explore how the trash has taken over the beach and how nature is transforming and processing it.

Rydz is the recipient of a Massachusetts Cultural Council Drawing Fellowship and a MassArt Faculty Foundation Fellowship. She has been the Lead Artist for the Artist Project, a community arts initiative program at the Museum of Fine Arts, where she collaborated with after-school community organizations in the Boston area. Rydz received an MFA from SMFA in affiliation with Tufts University and a BFA from Florida State University. She is currently an Assistant Professor at MassArt. Select exhibitions include: Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA; DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, Lincoln, MA; Berliner Liste, Berlin, Germany; Brattleboro Museum, Brattleboro, Vermont; El Parque Cultural del Caribe, Barranquilla, Colombia; Tufts University Art Gallery, Medford, MA; Aqua Art Fair, Miami, FL; La Otra: Feria de Arte Contemporáneo, Bogotá, Colombia.

Read more about Evelyn's work on SMFA's blog.

Image: Evelyn Rydz, Driftlines 4 (detail), 2012. Pencil and Color Pencil on two sheets of Drafting Film. 14x14 inches.