Jeremiah Aneke City College Art Portfolio

Digital Art

March 2026

New York City

My work is rooted in an exploration of science, not as a strict discipline, but as a conceptual landscape that mirrors the way humans make sense of the world. Each piece in this series represents one of the natural sciences: behavioral science, life science, earth science, and physical science, expressed through the lenses of psychology, biology, chemistry, and physics. I approach these fields with artistic freedom, distilling their essence into visual form rather than reproducing their formal definitions. My creative intent is to bring together my two central passions, art and science, into a unified visual language. Through this series, I hope to reveal that both disciplines, at their core, are driven by curiosity, pattern-seeking, and the desire to understand our place in a larger system.

Jeremiah Aneke
CUNY Queens College
Fall Semester 2026
1 March 2026
Personal Statement

Having finished my enrollment as a student at Cuny York College, majoring in Studio Art, BA, due to my focused interest in digital art, I will apply for a concentration in digital media. My goals for graduate study are to further develop my proficiency in digital media related to commercial graphic design, 3D modeling, animation, and graphic storytelling. For graphic design, I want to increase my versatility for art venues, website building, and connect with a larger art community. Within 3D modeling and animation, I want to improve my ability to translate 3D models into dynamic animations while maintaining the integrity of the initial model. As for graphic storytelling, I intend to improve my technical skills for creating comics and manga in a more accurate official style.

During my enrollment at York College, for my Art History courses, I engaged with art events, such as the Roving Reverie, which displayed stations at artworks displayed throughout the campus, in order to physically engage with materials and movements related to each art display. I attended professional workshops and exhibition visits, imitating and observing the act of archiving, curation, and conservation, such as with Shervone Neckles at the York College Artist Archive, and Sreshta Rit Premnath at the Asia Art Archive in America. I visited the Queens Public Library at Central to examine the materials related to Tom Lloyd, a former African American Artist at York College, and viewed the handing and organization process for documents, photos, and folders in a conservation space. In order to help finance my schooling, I having been working as a reservist in the military for the United States Marines Corps.

I have accumulated over a decade of experience with traditional artwork and over half a decade of experience with digital artwork. Through my experience with traditional and digital art, I have a history with online art commissions and collaborations within comic and manga fandoms. This includes creating my own fan made/personal comics and manga projects that have acquired online viewership. I have worked with YouTubers who, with my permission, have discussed and displayed my artwork in their videos relating to the fandoms I have participated in. The success of my online commissions was due to my consistent art posts across various sites, building a viewership, with some wanting me to draw personalized art for them at an appropriate price.

Outside of my online presence, I created digital art commissions for a member of my local church community, creating the three Archangels named in the Bible, Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. They will be printed and displayed at the church’s youth section for children to see; it is an ongoing project. In 2018-2020, I published a monthly comedy comic strip in the Midwood High School Argus newspaper called “The Anti-Climactic Life of Anna”, which won an award for Illustrative Work at the New York Scholastic Press Association’s 16th Annual High School Journalism Conference in 2019.

Despite the commercial dominance of digital art and the ease of using online applications, I have attempted to maintain my skills in traditional art due to its tangibility, investment value, and critical foundation as an art form.

Within the City College Digital and Interdisciplinary Art Practice, MFA, Graduate program, after much research and consideration, I think working with faculty member Mark Addison Smith will further solidify my synchronization of tradigital art due to his expertise in typographic storytelling through printed matter and artist’s books, providing clear mix-media practice.

Most of my art projects are done solo. Independence is important but I also want to become more competent when working on group projects. I hope that my growing experience and knowledge as an artist within various mediums, online and in-person, along with my academic performance, will be considered for my application to the City College Digital and Interdisciplinary Art Practice, MFA, Graduate program.

Jeremiah Aneke
197-18 115th Avenue Saint Albans NY 11412 347-494-3462
jerryaneke1@gmail.com
1 March 2026
Mark Addison Smith
The City College of New York, CUNY
160 Convent Ave, New York, NY 10031 diap@ccny.cuny.edu

Dear Mark Addison Smith,

I am writing this cover letter to express my strong interest in the City College Digital and Interdisciplinary Art Practice, MFA, Program. I am eager to pursue an environment that encourages both technical experimentation and mental engagement.

The work in my portfolio is rooted in an exploration of science, not as a strict discipline, but as a conceptual landscape that mirrors the way humans make sense of the world. Each piece in the series represents one of the natural sciences. It encompasses psychology, biology, chemistry, and physics.

Through my experience in Computer Graphics and Graphic Design I have developed skills in Adobe Applications, Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, and After Effects. Image editing, multi-page layouts, vector graphics, and motion graphics respectfully.

Through my experience in Cathedrals to Cotemporary, Afro-American Art, Art of Asia and the Pacific, and Contemporary Art, I have developed skills and knowledge in Art History. Western Art from the Middle Ages to the present day, African American Art explored through race, diaspora, and colonialism, Art from Asia and the Pacific viewed through religion, patronage, and cultural exchange, and artistic practices in a globalized post-modern world through archivism, curation, and conservation, respectfully. The culmination of my Art History courses was the condition, treatment, and relocation analysis for Elizabeth Catlett’s Torso (1986), from the back to the front of the York College library, aptly named Caring for Catlett. This display included artwork, book stands and vitrines for Catlett and other artists, like Houston Conwill, James Brown, and Romare Bearden, with Catlett being the main focus. This activity exemplified all the knowledge and skills I have developed throughout my Art History courses and furthered my appreciation for underrepresented African American Artists like Catlett.

I am interested in working with interdisciplinary resources that align strongly with my goal to expand my digital practice into mixed-media forms, 3D modeling, and installation. With my experience extending to other media such as sculpture, drawing, and photography, I am prepared to contribute a perspective rooted in both practical range and culturally engaged storytelling.

Thank you for considering my application. I welcome the opportunity to discuss how my background, discipline, and creative direction align with this graduate program opportunity. I am very enthusiastic about the possibility of contributing to your community and would be happy to provide any additional materials.

Sincerely,
Jeremiah Aneke

JEREMIAH ANEKE
Queens, NY
+1 347-494-3462
Jerryaneke1@gmail.com https://jerryaneke1.wixsite.com/jeremiah-aneke-art-p

Summary

Diligent detail orientated creator that enjoys expanding my skillset through exploring creative and diverse forms of artistic expression. Acquiring a position in an organization that is secure, stable, and serviceable is my goal. This would include joining a group of individuals with varied backgrounds, where I can contribute my experiences towards meeting a set standard.

Experience

Midwood High School
June 2018 – June 2020
Comic Strip Artist
•Produced work on a consistent monthly schedule for publication
•Included comedic and relatable situations within the submissions
•Worked with formators and editors in creative briefs and incorporated feedback
•Met the standards of sensitivity and appropriateness with the content I submitted
•Built an audience and commentary towards the comic strips shown in sections of the publications

Brooklyn Children’s Museum
June 2019 – June 2020
Student Intern
•Created a safe and comfortable environment for children
•Assisted in facilitating hands-on art and science projects for families
•Assisted with cultural festivities, community outreach, and museum-wide activities
•Learned about object-based learning, registration, and interpretation of historical objects
•Worked with staff in education, collections, and exhibit departments

United States Marine Corps
December 2020 – Currently
Data Systems Administrator
•Maintaining, configuring, and troubleshooting system network operating systems
•Managing active directory and ensuring compliance with cybersecurity policies
•Installing and managing hardware and software, including routers and switches
•Providing help desk support, fixing user accounts, and managing user devices
•Managing virtual platforms and storage administration

Education

CUNY York College
January 2024 – December 2025
BA in Studio Art, York College, City University of New York, Summa Cum Laude (4.0 GPA)
Valedictorian, Class of 2026

Grants/Awards/Honors

Midwood High School
November 2019
2nd place, The New York Scholastic Press Association’s 2019 Award for Best Illustration/Comic/Political Cartoon, Midwood High School (Fall)

CUNY York College
January 2024 – January 2026
Dean’s List, York College, City University of New York (Spring & Fall)

Exhibitions

CUNY York College
May 2024 – May 2026
Student Exhibition, Fine Art Gallery, York College, City University of New York

Commissions

Our Lady of Victory Church
December 2022
Public Art Commission, Archangels, large scale digital paintings (12 x 24 ft), NYC

Skills

•Writing: Formal & Creative
•Oral Interpretation: Prose & Poetry
•Traditional Art: Drawing, Inking, & Charcoal
•Digital Art: Procreate & Ibis paint
•Computer Graphics: Raster, Vector, & Animation
•Graphic Design: Branding, Marketing, Environmental, Motion, & Web
•Adobe Creative Cloud: Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, & After Affects
•3D-modeling: Autodesk, Tinkercad, & Fusion 360
•Microsoft: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, & OneDrive
•Sculpting: Clay, Cardboard, Wood, Stone, Metal, & Paper
•Painting: Oil, Acrylic, & Watercolor
•Photography: Film & Digital

Professor Carlos Sandoval de Leon
Professor Emily Verla Bovino
Professor Maki Hajikano
Professor Zoe Chan