Spring 2021 Herron Highlights

Every three months, we share a roundup of the most recent Herron community updates. We've compiled a list of student, alumni, and faculty highlights that took place from April to June, including exhibitions, publications, career moves, accomplishments, and accolades.

• On June 22, the Biennial Faculty Exhibition returned to the Herron Galleries, showcasing the work of Anila Agha, Karen Baldner, Sydney Craig, Doug Daniel, Andrew Perry Davis, Stephanie Doty, Ray Duffey, Matthew Eickhoff, Reagan Furqueron, Aaron Ganci, Anita Giddings, Robert Horvath, Greg Hull, Lowell Isaac, Sarah Jones, Mary McClung, Gurkan Maruf Mihci, Jeanne Nemeth, Matt Panfil, Melissa Parrott Quimby, Stefan Petranek, William Potter, Danielle Riede, Cory Robinson, Joani Rothenberg, Meredith Setser, Jared Cru Smith, Jake Sneath, Shelley Spicuzza, Carolyn Springer, Sherry Stone, Uranchimeg Tsultem, Claire White, Andrew Todd Winship, and Luba Halicki Winship. The exhibition will remain on view until Sept. 1.

• Associate Professor Anila Agha exhibited her work at Delhi Contemporary Art Week in India, which took place in early April. In June, she spoke with Designboom, an online design and architecture magazine, about how living in Pakistan and the United States has shaped her artistic identity.

• Karen Baldner, an adjunct instructor of printmaking, spoke about the Bloomington Breast Project, which she has led for the past 20 years at the Indiana Studies Style of the State Symposium, held virtually on April 9 and 10.

• Audrey Barcio (B.A.E. Art Education '07) was featured in "Sapientia Gloria Corona Est," a two-person exhibition that ran from May 15 to June 27 at New Harmony Gallery of Contemporary Art in southwest Indiana.

• Amelia Briggs (B.F.A. Painting '09) displayed her soft sculptures in three group exhibitions: "Welcome Back" at Cohle Gallery in Paris, France, from May 19 to June 5; "SOFT SPOT" at Numeroventi, a 16th century Italian palazzo in Florence transformed into an artist residency, from May 24 to 31; and "Big Body Play" at the Fine Arts Center in Greenville, South Carolina, which opened on June 7 and will continue until Sept. 10.

• Several Herron alums and faculty members presented sessions during the 2021 Indy Design Week, including Li Buszka (B.F.A. General Fine Arts '11), an adjunct instructor of drawing and illustration, Jordan Ryan (B.A. Art History '10), Pamela Napier (M.F.A. Visual Communication Design '09), an associate professor of visual communication design, and Jingo M. de la Rosa, an adjunct instructor of drawing and illustration. The conference took place virtually from April 19 to 23.

• The research of Herron Art Library staff member DeeDee Davis was featured in an IndyStar story about the Indiana Historical Society exhibit "Lost Landmarks of Indianapolis."

• In April, Leena Dobouni (M.F.A. Visual Art '21) and Luis Garcia (M.F.A. Visual Communication Design '21) were named to IUPUI's Elite 50 list. Read Q&As with Leena and Luis to learn more about their work and their contributions while at Herron.

• In May, the Eagle Creek Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution honored Valerie Eickmeier with the American Heritage Women in Art Award. She retired in June after 39 years of teaching and visionary leadership as Dean from 1999 to 2018.

• Kim Fuelling (B.F.A. Painting '99) and Paul Fuelling (B.F.A. Painting '97), collaborators and co-owners of Mabel Studios, displayed their latest collection of fine art and furnishings at Common Good Company in Boone, North Carolina, from May 28 through mid-July.

• Herron's 2021 Dickey Art History Research Paper Prize was awarded to Elias Garza Garcia for his essay "Victor Colby: A Life in Sculpture." Dr. Stephanie Dickey, a highly respected member of the Herron art faculty from 1995 to 2006, established the Dickey Prize in memory of her late husband, Garth Dickey, an enthusiastic supporter of the arts and Herron.

• Gary Gee (B.F.A. Integrative Studio Practice '16) created two murals that were on display at the Indiana State Museum as part of the exhibition "RESPONSE: Images and Sounds of a Movement." The exhibition, which was organized in collaboration with the Arts Council of Indianapolis and the Indianapolis Public Library, opened on June 6 and will be on display until Sept. 6.

• Chloe Greenberg, a drawing and illustration student, was featured in an IUPUI video that shows prospective students what it's like to study at Herron.

• The Herron Galleries featured the work of 19 emerging art therapists, artists, and designers, as well as more than 80 graduating seniors from the school's various program areas, in the Graduate Thesis and Senior Capstone Exhibitions, which opened on May 4 and ran through May 22. View 360-degree virtual tours of the installations in the Berkshire, Reese, and Paul Galleries, the Marsh Gallery, the the Basile Gallery, and Eskenazi Fine Arts Center.

• Susan Hirsch (B.F.A. Painting '75) installed "Tree of Hope" in the lobby of the Scripps MD Anderson Cancer Center on John H. Hopkins Drive in San Diego, California, in June as an inspirational piece for cancer patients.

• Laura Holzman, an associate professor and public scholar of curatorial practices and visual art, organized and hosted two events in April in conjunction with the virtual exhibition "Creativity vs. COVID: Ending the Pandemic for Good," including a panel discussion and an artistic activism workshop featuring members of the Free the Vaccine for COVID-19 collective.

• On the WICR radio show "The daVinci Pursuit," Interim Dean Greg Hull and Associate Professors Jennifer Lee and Stefan Petranek discussed the world of optical phenomena, Vermeer, camera obscura, pinholes, flipped images, and painting. Listen to the episode.

• On April 13, the inaugural Herron Alumni Studio Visit featured Samuel Levi Jones (B.F.A. Photography '09), the first event in a new series that allows you to tour the studios of our alumni from various disciplines and stages of their careers. Jones also joined Newfields' Board of Trustees in May, as part of an effort to increase diversity at the highest levels of the institution.

• Phil Lamie (B.F.A. Sculpture '84; M.A.E. Art Education '00), an art teacher at Towne Meadow Elementary in Carmel, Indiana, was named Teacher of the Year. View a heartfelt video of students and faculty congratulating him.

• Jonathan McAfee (B.F.A. Painting '06) had a solo exhibition, "Oh! Happy Day," at the Harrison Center in Indianapolis throughout June.

• Eileen Misluk, assistant professor and director of art therapy, wrote in Eating Disorder Review about how engaging in creative processes activates brain-related functions that can be impaired by an eating disorder.

• Asli Narin, a visiting lecturer of foundations and photography, exhibited in a solo show, "I For Another," at the Krank Art Gallery in Istanbul, Turkey. View a virtual tour of the exhibition, which opened on April 13 and ran until May 16.

• In June, 12 Stars Media released "IMBPREZ," a feature-length documentary film about Brian Presnell, founder of Indy Urban Hardwood, that tells the story of how he uses his artistic talents and passion for recycling to make a positive impact on Indianapolis communities.

• Cory Robinson (B.F.A. Woodworking '99), a furniture design professor, and Shamira Wilson (B.F.A. Furniture Design) collaborated on a mural that was installed in mid-May on 16th Street between Home Avenue and Union Street in downtown Columbus. Learn more about the project, which was made possible by the Columbus Area Arts Council, the Bloomberg Philanthropies Asphalt Art Initiative grant program, as well as the City of Columbus and Columbus Regional Health Healthy Communities.

• With her paper "Gender Roles and Women in Mesoamerica," Emma Schwartz, a drawing and illustration student, won the Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Undergraduate Essay and Research and Writing Contest. She presented the paper at the 33rd IU Women's and Gender Studies Undergraduate Conference, which took place virtually from April 16 to May 1.

• Nick Smith (B.F.A. Visual Communication Design '19) designed and installed a mural in the exterior courtyard of the Coil Apartments in Broad Ripple, Indiana.

• An illustration by Connor Stump (B.F.A. Drawing & Illustration '21) was accepted into the Society of Illustrators' 2021 Student Scholarship Exhibit. Their work was chosen among thousands of submissions from professors across the country and featured online.

• The late, renown Hoosier artist and Herron alumnus Paul J. Sweany (B.F.A. '51) had 13 original watercolors from the Conley Family Estate Collection on display at the Juniper Art Gallery in Spencer, Indiana. The exhibition opened on May 28 and will be on display until December 20, 2021.

• Uranchimeg Tsultem, an assistant professor of art history and the Edgar and Dorothy Fehnel Chair in International Studies, wrote a chapter titled "'Capitalist Art' and the Invention of Tradition in Twentieth-Century Mongolia" in the book "Socialist and Post-Socialist Mongolia: Nation, Identity, and Culture," which was published this spring by Routledge.

• At the Amplify Columbus Film Festival in May, Alyse Tucker Bounds (B.A. Art History '20) debuted a documentary film project sharing Black stories from America's crossroads. More information about the project can be found in a story published in The Republic.

• Natasha Vidger (M.F.A. Visual Art '18) debuted a solo exhibition, "Common Ground," on June 4 at Tube Factory Artspace in Indianapolis. The exhibition will be on display until July 18.

• Will Watson (B.F.A. General Fine Arts '11) took part in "21 Piece Salute" presented by Black Wall Street Gallery at their newly opened space in New York, N.Y., honoring those who lost their lives and livelihoods in the Tulsa Race Massacre in 1921. The exhibition was on display from May 27 to June 19.

• Shamira Wilson (B.F.A. Furniture Design) and Priya Wittman (B.F.A. Painting '11; M.F.A. Visual Art '15) exhibited new works in separate solo shows, "Collective Breathing" and "Generations," at the Harrison Center in Indianapolis during the month of April.

• From May 7 to June 12, John Drue S. Worrell (B.F.A. Painting '11) had a solo exhibition, "Agrarian Fliers," at Meredith Rosen Gallery in New York, N.Y.

• The article "How Austerity Destroyed the Public Good," which appeared in the May 2021 issue of The New Republic and online, was accompanied by an illustration by Robert Young (B.F.A. General Fine Arts '13).

Want to be featured in the next Herron highlights roundup? Submit your news via our online form or email herrext@iupui.edu.