One of the best barometers of the new blood entering the local arts scene is the annual University of Utah MFA Show, when students completing their studies in the Master of Fine Arts program make a statement to sum up what they’ve learned, provide a glimpse of where they are in their artistic careers and point toward the future aesthetic directions they might pursue.

An independent bunch, artists naturally don’t confine themselves to the somewhat ascetic remove of the campus and often yearn to branch out. Visual Art Institute instructor and sculptor Heidi, as well as painter Tyler Spurgeon, who earned his BFA at the Art Institute of Chicago, have had works featured in local shows. In this setting, the nine MFA candidates are able to demonstrate what they have that’s vital to add to the local visual-arts conversation.

University of Utah MFA Show @ Gittins Gallery, University of Utah Art Building, 375 S. 1530 East, 801-581-8677, through Jan. 28, free