University of South Dakota MFA Candidate Presents ‘Surface Rhythms'
"Surface Rhythms” focuses on how an artist’s language develops over time through material exploration and persistence. It also reflects the visual and physical movement across each work of art, such as color relationships pulsing across uneven panels while textures interrupt and guide the viewer’s eye.
According to Nishe, who is specializing in painting and mixed media, “some work feels dense and grounded, while others appear light and open, creating a rhythm that mirrors both emotional and bodily experience.”
Her work also uses abstraction to express experiences and emotions that cannot be fully explained through words, allowing materials to speak through touch, intuition and repetition. Her paintings function as records of thinking, feeling and persistence—built gradually through attention to process rather than immediate results.
“I paint what I carry inside, not what I see outside,” Nishe says. “Painting, for me, is a way to think, to feel and to build meaning over time.”
Originally from Bangladesh, Nishe’s artistic perspective has been shaped by both her cultural background and her academic journey in the United States. Growing up in a place rich with color, craft traditions and hand-made practices, she developed an early sensitivity to texture, repetition and surface. These influences continue to inform her work, even as her paintings move away from representation and toward abstraction.
“Every layer holds a decision, a pause or a change,” said Nishe. “I am interested in how painting can carry feeling through touch, not just through image.”
Following graduation, Nishe plans to continue developing her studio practice while pursuing opportunities in teaching, research and community engagement. She is committed to experimentation, learning through making and fostering curiosity—values that guide both her artistic direction and her future goals as an artist and educator.
The exhibition is free and open to the public, with an opening reception on April 10 from 5 to 7 p.m.
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