Biola Art Department

Biola Art Department The Official Page of the Biola University Department of Art.

Welcome to the website of Biola University’s Department of Art, an acknowledged leader in Christian visual arts education. At Biola University, our art professors are committed to training students so they are equipped with the aesthetic, technical, and conceptual skills necessary for success in various contemporary art practices. The University’s location in the midst of Los Angeles, an internati

onal nexus of ideas, images and realities, makes it a wonderful place to learn about and respond to contemporary visual arts culture—its social, political, philosophical, and spiritual concerns. Art students at Biola are trained academically and spiritually to become servant-leaders, who as artists, understand the complexity of the world in which they live. The Department of Art creates an academic environment that thrives on the interrelationship of biblical Christianity and artistic practice. It offers students a professional visual arts program with a rigorous curriculum integrated with a strong liberal arts emphasis and Christian theology.

These past 6 weeks, we’ve had the honor of hosting the Art Department’s inaugural cohort of summer residents! It’s been ...
06/28/2026

These past 6 weeks, we’ve had the honor of hosting the Art Department’s inaugural cohort of summer residents! It’s been such an amazing time making, reflecting, eating, and building community together. Here’s to our summer residents! 🥂

Artist Resident:
Daniel Callis

Faculty Residents:
Daniel Chang
Luke Aleckson

Post Baccalaureate Honors Residents:
Abigail Park
Christina Nghiem

Educator and Alumna Resident:
Jessie Hernandez

For the summer residency, Biola provided the following resources for use to our residents:

1) Designated studio workspace
2) Access to art-making equipment and facilities
3) Opportunities to interact with faculty, visiting artists, or scholars (including John Anderson and Beth Khorey)
4) Exhibition space for a group show, presenting work made by each resident during the term (more on that soon!)

Join us in the best end to our Spring ‘26 BFA exhibitions, at the animation premiere of Ricky Tirado’s “UPPERCUT”, 5pm i...
04/30/2026

Join us in the best end to our Spring ‘26 BFA exhibitions, at the animation premiere of Ricky Tirado’s “UPPERCUT”, 5pm in the Ethel Lee Auditorium. Can’t wait to share this amazing finale with you! 🥊🎟️

We are so thrilled to announce the upcoming animation premiere On 2’s! Next Monday at 5pm in the Ethel Lee Auditorium. G...
04/29/2026

We are so thrilled to announce the upcoming animation premiere On 2’s! Next Monday at 5pm in the Ethel Lee Auditorium. Get here early to be up close, you wouldn’t want to miss it! 🎟️🍿

A big congratulations to
Ella Serrano
Ricky Tirado
Val Martin
Makenna Brandt & Zane Kalani Kuljian

We can’t wait to see all your amazing work on screen!

Stargazing in anticipation for Ella’s BFA exhibition “everything i’ve ever loved” THIS Monday at 6pm in the Bardwell Pro...
04/26/2026

Stargazing in anticipation for Ella’s BFA exhibition “everything i’ve ever loved” THIS Monday at 6pm in the Bardwell Project Space 🌟💫

A note from Ella about “everything i’ve ever loved”:

My body of work is centered around something I call my “soul realm,” a world I’ve built that represents my inner self. It’s where my relationship with the Creator, love for others, interests, personality, and faith all come together visually. It’s filled with bright colors, stars, sea creatures, and dreamlike spaces. The work is playful and imaginative, but also honest and emotional.
Most of my pieces are narrative-based and revolve around themes like love, forgiveness, growth, and the story of the sinful human life. While the work can feel cute, colorful, and whimsical, there’s often a quieter layer underneath. Rooted in my relationship with Jesus and my life experiences, my hope is that you feel peaceful and seen. As humans, we go through similar sufferings even though we are all different, but my hope is for you to feel emotionally connected to the work as I have been.

Jumping up and down and doing cartwheels because Kaila’s BFA Exhibition “Nowhere” is THIS Monday at 6pm in the Bardwell ...
04/26/2026

Jumping up and down and doing cartwheels because Kaila’s BFA Exhibition “Nowhere” is THIS Monday at 6pm in the Bardwell Project Space. Come celebrate with us!!

Some insight into Kaila’s “Nowhere”:

My work explores themes of childlike wonder, kindness, joy, and what it means to live a Christ-centered life. I am especially inspired by the Fruit of the Spirit and the ways these qualities can be reflected through simple, joyful imagery. Through my illustrations, I try to create scenes that feel warm, imaginative, and inviting. I want to encourage viewers to slow down and notice the goodness and beauty that often exist in everyday life.
I begin my process with watercolor because working with traditional media helps me feel more connected to the piece and often sparks my creativity. Watercolor was one of the first mediums I learned as a child, and continuing to use it reminds me of the joy I had when I first began creating. After finishing the painting, I scan it and bring it into Procreate, where I add details and refine the image. This stage is often where the illustration fully comes to life.
Much of my inspiration comes from nature, such as mountains, trees, sunsets, and animals, as well as the vibrant colors and storytelling found in classic Disney films. Through this project, I hope to remind viewers of the importance of kindness, joy, and wonder in their daily lives. At its core, this work is about reflecting the beauty of God’s creation and inviting people to see the world with a little more curiosity, gratitude, and hope.

Join us this Monday at 6pm in the Green Gallery for Christina’s BFA exhibition “february in june (và mãi mãi)”Some backg...
04/26/2026

Join us this Monday at 6pm in the Green Gallery for Christina’s BFA exhibition “february in june (và mãi mãi)”

Some background on Christina’s “february in june (và mãi mãi)“:

My work often begins in curiosity—rooted in everyday life, nourished by research, and shaped through material exploration. Through a gradual befriending of materials embedded in cultural and liturgical traditions, my work examines the contours of human fragility and embodiment. Culture, habit, and faith intertwine with collective memory and are reshaped by the ebb and flow of time. Within this framework, composition and form become acts of translation between disparate realities, negotiating presence and absence, self and other, perfection and limitation.
February in June (và Mãi Mãi) inhabits the liminal space between human finitude and the pursuit of actualization. It invites the viewer to dwell within spaces that are simultaneously woven and unraveled by time. By mediating traditional forms through technological processes, the exhibition celebrates the ephemerality, presence, and labor held within material and being. February in June further interrogates the boundaries between creation and idolatry, contemplating the human gesture as both devotional and (de)formative act. I hope that as you navigate this space, you will encounter that wrestling and sit with it for a while—learning, as I have, to embrace the fragile beauty it holds.
“Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.” — Ecclesiastes 3:11

Excited to announce Isaac’s BFA exhibition “Afterlight” is opening this Monday at 6pm in the Green Gallery! We’d love to...
04/26/2026

Excited to announce Isaac’s BFA exhibition “Afterlight” is opening this Monday at 6pm in the Green Gallery! We’d love to see you there!

A bit more on Isaac’s “Afterlight”:

My work explores childhood as something that we should carry. As we age, our experiences of comfort, protection, and even fear continue to shape our views of ourselves and ultimately the world.
Afterlight unfolds across four stages of a developing narrative: Loss, Survival,
Transformation, and Reclamation. Characterized through their shift in color and materials, each stage serves to recall memories of an interrupted childhood as they are translated into visual form.
Materials such as yarn, paint, and even plush forms act as stand-ins for myself and others who have shaped my story.
Softness runs throughout the work as it expresses both vulnerability and protection. What appears as gentle becomes a form of structure: a barrier, a suit of armor, a means of safety. As viewers move through the space, they encounter the memories not as something distant, but as something still influencing the present.
This work does not seek resolution or to assign blame, but rather continuation. I walk alongside my past as it becomes a foundation I grow from. In doing so, I offer myself as both subject and evidence, demonstrating how healing and change come from confronting and learning to live alongside these experiences.

Becks’ thesis exhibition “Plină de Hayati” is opening THIS Monday in the Bardwell Project Space at 6pm! See you all ther...
04/19/2026

Becks’ thesis exhibition “Plină de Hayati” is opening THIS Monday in the Bardwell Project Space at 6pm! See you all there!!

A little bit about “Plină de Hayati”:

My work explores the emotions and experiences I’ve had growing up half Romanian and half Egyptian. I design in a way that holds true to the light, enthusiastic, bright, and loud aspects of being a third culture kid, while also finding my identity separately from the influences around me.

I craft labels and brand identities that dig deeper into the purpose and value of food, into all that you can do with ingredients to make a dish, and how the simplest joys can become something bigger than themselves. This takes form through bright colors, repetition, symbolic stamps and doodles, and a sleek, minimal approach that does not erase culture. I design for people to grasp an understanding that cannot simply be assumed or visually deduced. It is about caring for ingredients and caring for people, putting action to often-repeated words and conversations, and providing a space for curiosity and authenticity.

Ryan’s exhibition, “Golgotha,” will also be opening in Green Gallery THIS Monday at 6pm! Let’s come together and celebra...
04/19/2026

Ryan’s exhibition, “Golgotha,” will also be opening in Green Gallery THIS Monday at 6pm! Let’s come together and celebrate all his hard work!

Here’s a little insight into “Golgotha”:

I’m interested in the ways ugly things can be beautiful and lowly things can be holy. I look for redemptive qualities in things that people don’t typically like to look at. There is something visually striking in electrical infrastructure, in the towers, pylons, and utility poles, that I believe can offer glimpses of the infinite. For Golgotha, I’ve been working with charcoal, crochet, and sculpture. I am drawn to the presence of the human hand in the work, and these materials help me achieve a level of organic texturing that I find compelling, especially when set against subjects that are very much inorganic, metallic, and rigid. I am inspired by road trips to the middle of nowhere, by Christian art and iconography and the lack thereof, by a passion for looking up, and by Southern Gothic artists and writers. My work is guided by a curiosity about the redemption of the grotesque, a sense of mercy for the fallen, and a deep appreciation for overlooked, unattractive utilitarian structures. I hope that through my work viewers question their own ideas of beauty alongside me. That together we can see redemptive qualities in the harshness of the world and in things we normally ignore.

Come and join us in celebrating Joseph as his BFA show “This is a Collaboration.” opens THIS Monday at 6pm in the Green ...
04/19/2026

Come and join us in celebrating Joseph as his BFA show “This is a Collaboration.” opens THIS Monday at 6pm in the Green Gallery!

A little bit about Joseph’s show:
I believe that the human impulse to create is the clearest reflection of God within us. Creation may take on infinite forms, but for me it’s a place of awe; a place where I can work in tandem with God as a collaborator to inspire that same awe within others. My work is primarily made of photography, where I bring the outside in. I use it as a way to break up God’s creation into small moments that can be reflected upon to be appreciated for its existence. These images are then transformed through varying processes that make up my part of the contribution to this work. By using materials such as string, mirrors, and projectors, I am demonstrating a different way to digest creation the way I understand it to be. This work also contains clay and porcelain which serve as a way to connect to the idea of creation through a more tactile style of understanding. By fusing God’s creation with my own, I have no choice but to state that this work is a collaboration.

Address

13800 Biola Avenue
La Mirada, CA
90639

Telephone

(562) 903-4807

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Biola Art Department posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share