Welcome to the 1998 Master of Fine Arts Degree Shows from the Fine Art Department of Newcastle University

These exhibitions are like a First Night. For postgraduate students poised on the edge of a career in art there are no more rehearsals. this is a step into the spotlight.

And they can be sure they're being watched. Interest in the postgraduates of Britain's art schools has never been greater, fuelled by the belief that the energy, irreverence and inventiveness of young British artists has been first focused in the work they made and the conversations they had as students. Whether in the Royal College of Art in the 1960's or more recently in Glasgow or Goldsmith's the postgraduate schools have been home to outstanding achievement.

Sometimes the publicity and the glamour round the work of young talents can make it seem like a trick done with mirrors, but there isn't a hint of an artful dodge with these six artists. Their work has presence and passion. Above all it has the authority that comes from hard-won professionalism.

Enjoy the Shows

Gavin Robson
M.F.A. Degree Programme Director