CVPA faculty

Erik Thor Sandberg (b. 1975, Quantico, VA) lives and works in Washington, D.C. Sandberg is known for his masterful oil paintings of the human figure and landscape. Creating inventive imagery ranging from panoramic to intimate, Sandberg pushes the skillful illusionism of master painting to the contemporary edge of Magic Realism.

Vianey Martinez Acosta is an interdisciplinary artist from Ciudad Juárez, Mexico who currently lives and works in Washington D.C. Her work explores the vulnerabilities and violence of her community and narrates her experience crossing the U.S.-Mexico border daily, questioning the political corruptness of this division.

Joey P. Mánlapaz is an accomplished contemporary realist painter recognized for her multifaceted roles as painter, educator, curator, and juror of art exhibitions, and advocate for the elderly through art.

Syrian artist Abdulrahman Naanseh, known for his mastery of Arabic calligraphy, learned this craft with guidance from his father, a self-taught calligrapher. 
His dedication and gift led to notable achievements, including exhibitions at the Arneli Art Gallery during the Beit Misk Festival in Beirut and creating murals at Damascus University.

Jesse Cowan

Johnna Johnson joined Mason as the new Assistant Director of Development for the College of Visual and Performing Arts, and in this role she will be working closely with the Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music and Friends of Music at Mason. 

Recognized in The New York Times as a "Super Lawyer" in the fields of Entertainment, Intellectual Property, and Artist Immigration, Brian is a partner in the performing arts and entertainment firm of Goldstein and Guilliams PLLC.

Award-winning cellist, Ismar Gomes, has performed internationally as a chamber musician, and soloist. Hailed for his “impressive virtuosity, energy, and a handsome tonal range” (Berkshire Review), he has established himself as a captivating young artist, delivering exciting and innovative performances.

Mallory Kimmel is a Washington-D.C.-based artist, who makes conceptual furniture to address exclusionary design practices. She focuses on disrupting loopholes used to deny human rights.

The notion that art could be a practice of living inquiry led Dr. Barney to seek and obtain a PhD in Curriculum Studies with an emphasis on Art Education from the University of British Columbia, where he taught communications, classroom methods, principles of teaching, and supervised student teachers. Barney has won many regional and national awards for his teaching and scholarship over his career.