Winter 2023 Herron Highlights

Detail of an illustration by Chloe Greenberg from the book "My Autistic Mama." Chloe Greenberg

Every three months, we publish a roundup of the most recent updates from the Herron community. Here's a look at what our students, alums, and faculty were up to between January and March 2023, including exhibitions, publications, career moves, accomplishments, and accolades.

  • "Away," a group exhibition from Feb. 8 to March 11, featured works and ephemera from Herron's recent 2022 Study Abroad Programs in Southeast Asia and Venice, Italy. Participating artists included Lydia Amos, Sarah A. Bailey, Veronica Breach, Alejandra Carrillo, Paul C. Diebold (B.A. Art History '84), Elias Evans (B.F.A. Drawing & Illustration '22), Emily Lemke (B.F.A. Drawing & Illustration '22), Ginger Miller, Sadie Minnigan, Olivia Van Renterghem, Wynter Rhoads (B.F.A. Painting '22), Julia Ryden, Nathanial Survance, Megan Vogeler (B.F.A. Painting '22), and Claire Wallace. The exhibition was dedicated to A. Ian Fraser, an alum and Professor Emeritus who established Herron's international studies program and led students abroad from 1979 to 1995.
  • Karen Baldner, an associate faculty member of printmaking, was awarded a 2023 Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching for going above and beyond to provide students with opportunities and an environment to succeed. She will be honored at the Chancellor's Academic Honors Convocation on the IUPUI campus on April 20 in the Hine Hall Auditorium.
  • On Jan. 28 and 29, James Benn (B.F.A. Visual Communication '79), an Indianapolis-based professional actor, presented and performed in "In the Life: Songs of Gay Harlem" at the District Theatre on Mass Ave.
  • Twenty-nine Herron artists designed movie posters for the 13th Annual Bigger Picture Show silent auction at Circle City Industrial Complex on March 31: Kelly Bohnenkamp (B.F.A. Visual Communication Design '17), Carlos Buckley-Cazares (M.F.A. Visual Art '17), Nevada Buckley-Cazares (B.F.A. Printmaking '12), Sarah Kate Chamness (B.F.A. Visual Communication '07), Jingo M. de la Rosa, Eugene Ernsberger (B.F.A. Visual Communication '05), Eric Gray (B.F.A. '12), Kaylee Green (B.F.A. Visual Communication Design '19), Jacquelyn Halpern (B.F.A. Visual Communication Design '12), Andrea Haydon (B.F.A. Visual Communication Design '11), Maria Iqbal (B.F.A. Drawing & Illustration '16), Amanda Keller (B.F.A. General Fine Arts '07), Brian Kumle (B.F.A. Visual Communication Design '13), Skyler Lawson (B.F.A. Visual Communication Design '12), Peter Lockhart (B.F.A. Visual Communication Design '10), Dustin Lynch (B.F.A. Visual Communication Design '10), Parker McCullough (B.F.A. Visual Communication Design '17), Gabrielle McNeill (B.F.A. Integrative Studio Practice '22), Jan Michael Bennett (B.F.A. Visual Communication '04), Michelle Mullen (B.F.A. General Fine Arts '13), T.J. Nieset (B.F.A. Visual Communication Design '17), John Rau (B.F.A. Visual Communication Design '17), Ross Shafer (B.F.A. Visual Communication Design '12), James Sholly (B.F.A. Visual Communication '87), Jon Sholly (B.F.A. Visual Communication '03), Jenny Tod (B.F.A. Visual Communication Design '12), Krista Ward (B.F.A. Visual Communication Design '11), Chad Wysong (B.F.A. Visual Communication Design '20), and Nathan Zarse (B.F.A. Visual Communication '05).
  • Photography students Lillian Broughton, Em Elise, Jane Sun Kim, Sarah Montañez, Drew Rekemeyer, Eleowyn Romansky, Emma Seewald, Alexander Toms, and Margarita Velazquez exhibited works digitally in "Where I Live: Herron School of Art and Design Students Respond at the Eiteljorg Museum" at the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis, Indiana. Stefan Petranek, an associate professor of foundations and photography, and Asli Narin, an associate faculty member of photography, curated the exhibition of student works created in their fall 2022 courses. The selected works complement the exhibition "Changing Views: The Photography of Dorothea Lange," which is on view at the museum from March 4 through Aug. 6. To learn more, visit the students' exhibition page.
  • On March 14, the second installment of "Lupina," a Legendary Comics graphic novel series written by James F. Wright and illustrated by Herron alum Li Buszka (B.F.A. General Fine Arts '11), was released. Martin Clinch (B.F.A. Printmaking '14) was also an inker on the creative team.
  • NUVO featured Rafael Caro (B.F.A. Drawing & Illustration '20) in a story about how his artwork captures Indianapolis's strange, offbeat, and unusual aspects of life.
  • Sydney Craig (M.F.A. Visual Art '18), foundations studies coordinator and acting assistant professor, was named a 2023 Virtual Global Learning Fellow by IUPUI's Office of International Affairs.
  • "Blended Colors" featured paintings by 18 Herron students: Heather Christy, Myra J. Church, Macy Coles, Josie Ellis, Maya Ferzandi, Forest Henn, Denise Hernandez, Sierra Nicole Hill, Zoe Hodgden, Lily Smith, Lucy Smith, Tiberius Smith-Wiley, Natalie Starks, Meghan Thayer, Kenan Tinnin, Elise Velikan, Marlee White, and Ami Wooten. The exhibition was on view in the Herron Galleries from Feb. 8 to March 11.
  • Jessica Dunn (B.F.A. Painting '11) will premiere "Reverie Garden," an immersive art audio-visual work created in collaboration with composer and multidisciplinary artist Landon Caldwell, on April 7 as part of The Lume, the multisensory fourth-floor gallery inside the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields. The Arts Council of Indianapolis and Newfields selected Dunn's work as part of a call for submissions in August 2022. Read an IndyStar story about the chosen featurettes that was published in February.
  • In March, the Indianapolis Recorder featured Herron alums Gary Gee (B.F.A. Integrative Studio Practice '16), John G. Moore, Kevin Nance-West, and Shamira Wilson – members of the Eighteen Art Collective, who painted the Black Lives Matter mural on Indiana Avenue in 2020 – and how their work is changing the local art narrative.
  • Chloe Greenberg (B.F.A. Drawing & Illustration '21) illustrated "My Autistic Mama," a children's book celebrating neurodivergent parents written by an autistic author, Kati Hirschy. On March 14, the book was released on Amazon, and a launch party was held that day from 5 to 9 p.m. at Healer DIY in Indianapolis.
  • Research from Associate Professor and Public Scholar of Curatorial Practices and Visual Art Laura Holzman's 2019 book "Contested Image" was featured on WHYY Digital Studios' six-part podcast "The Statue." Get caught on all the episodes.
  • Robert Horvath, associate professor of painting, curated an exhibition titled "It's the Only Life I've Ever Known," featuring works by queer-identifying Herron alums: Lon Beck (B.F.A. Painting '67), Boybarella (B.F.A. Sculpture '16), Taryn Cassella (B.F.A. Painting '16), Martin Clinch (B.F.A. Printmaking '14), Cai Delehanty (B.F.A. General Fine Arts '14), Margo Koontz (B.F.A. Painting '20), Joshua A.M. Ross (B.F.A. Photography '15), Gustavo Uriel (B.F.A. Painting '15), and Dane A.B. Wallace (B.F.A. Integrative Studio Practice '20). The exhibition opened in the Herron Galleries on March 22 and will remain on view through April 22.
  • The Daily Journal featured the pen-and-ink drawings of Herron alum James Johnson. His work was on view at the Southside Art League's Off Broadway Gallery from Jan. 4 to Jan. 28 in Greenwood, Indiana.
  • The Faculty Crossing's spring 2023 Herron Teaching Residency was awarded to Sarah Jones (B.F.A. General Fine Arts '94), an associate faculty member of drawing and illustration and foundations, by IUPUI's Office of Academic Affairs and Center for Teaching and Learning. Jones will present "teach talks" focusing on the importance of fully participating in each stage of the creative process and embracing mistakes visually and for artistic growth.
  • Jason Cole Mager (B.F.A. Painting '00) was a recent guest on Firelight Chats, the official podcast of a Taiwan-based boutique English-language educational experience, consulting, and training firm. During the two-hour conversation, the podcast episode covered Mager's background, work, a recent solo exhibition, and other topics.
  • Gürkan Maruf Mihçi, assistant professor of foundations and visual communication design, displayed work at LCB Depot's creative programming in January, which explored the intersection of extended reality, gaming, art, coding, and artificial intelligence. "Digital Season" featured exhibitions, talks, workshops, and activities from Jan. 16 to Feb. 3 and took place in Leicester, U.K.
  • Pamela Napier, associate professor of visual communication design, and Sarah Strong, associate faculty member of foundations and painting, received Favorite Professor Awards from the IUPUI Department of Athletics this semester.
  • The Frankfort Community Public Library chose Amaris Orozco (B.F.A. Drawing & Illustration '16) for the Hubbard Artist-in-Residence program. Beginning in January, Orozco led monthly classes for Clinton County residents of all ages to create a collaborative children's book for an exhibition in the Frankfort library showcasing the project.
  • Ahmed Ozserver (B.F.A. Photography '06) had two solo exhibitions this winter. "Reading the Depth Record" was on display at Purdue University's Yue-Kong Pao Hall of Visual and Performing Arts' Rueff Galleries from Jan. 30 to Feb. 10, in West Lafayette, Indiana. "River, Red" debuted on March 4 at the New Harmony Gallery of Contemporary Art in New Harmony, Indiana, and will be on display until April 15.
  • In January, Megan Pinkerton (B.F.A. Visual Communication Design '22) was hired as a product designer for McGraw Hill, one of America's top educational publishing companies in pre-K through postgraduate education.
  • Danielle Riede, the Randolph H. Deer Professor of Painting and a professor of foundations and painting, participated in a group exhibition at Artisan Lofts in New York, N.Y., presented by Garvey|Simon. "Radiate" debuted on March 16 and will be on display until Sept. 17.
  • On March 22, Jared Cru Smith (B.F.A. Furniture Design '11), safety curriculum manager and sculpture shop manager, and Sydney Craig (M.F.A. Visual Art '18), acting assistant professor of foundations, opened "Pen Pals," a collaborative exhibition in the Herron Galleries. It will remain on view until April 22.
  • Uranchimeg Tsultem, assistant professor of art history and the Edgar and Dorothy Fehnel Chair in International Studies, was chosen as one of 72 scholars from around the world to take part in the Rubin Museum's Project Himalayan Art, a three-part initiative designed to support the incorporation of Himalayan, Tibetan, and Inner Asian art and cultures into humanities and liberal arts teaching curricula on Asia. Tsultem also spoke on Jan. 27 at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. She gave a talk and led a workshop for the Numata Lecture Series, co-organized by the University of Toronto and McMaster University's Numata Buddhist Studies Program, on Feb. 2-3. In addition, she spoke at the Association for Asian Studies annual conference, which took place in Boston, Massachusetts, from March 16 to 19.
  • Seven years after his first interview, Samuel Vázquez (B.F.A.Visual Communication Design '10), an associate faculty member of visual communication design, spoke with the Obsessed Show podcast to discuss graphic design, fine art, music, and teaching. Watch the discussion or listen to the episode.
  • During the spring semester, Icah Watkins, a senior in visual communication design, is one of three students interning for PATTERN, Inc., a nonprofit multimedia platform showcasing and connecting Central Indiana's creatives and makers. Learn more about Icah in PATTERN's "Meet Our Spring 2023 Interns" story.

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

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