Cobi Moules, 29

Moules’s paintings explore his transition from female to male. “A lot of the changes haven’t come in full force,’’ he says. “I’m past the super-pubescent stage.’’ Moules regularly paints self-portraits, and for his thesis show he delves into the iconography of Hudson River School painting. “That’s American culture — this Christian nation I’m a part of, growing up in the Bible Belt, in a Christian family. The landscape is a stand-in for my upbringing,’’ he says. He paints Catskills scenes and populates them with dozens of images of himself. “I’m taking a stand on my individuality.’’