2023 Undergraduate Juried Exhibition Awards

February 7, 2023

The Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design proudly celebrates the exceptional work by our undergraduate students in art and design through the 2023 Undergraduate Juried Exhibition.

On view at Stamps Gallery from February 10 through March 4, 2023, the exhibition features an outstanding array of projects created by current Stamps students.

The jurors for this exhibition – Ann Arbor-based fine artist Helen Gotlib; User Experience Design Consultant Parrish Hanna; and Founding Director of Detroit Puppet Company Carrie Morris (MFA ’07) – selected the works in the exhibition, recognizing the artists and designers featured below with awards.

The image depicts two figures identifying as male and female with their faces smooshed together surrounded by marigolds and roses. They both have lipstick smeared across their lips.

Allison Crawford: Modern Day Lovers

Opportunity Fund: Awarded from the Stamps School of Art and Design Stamps Opportunity Fund, a fund supported by annual gifts from donors to provide unrestricted resources to the Stamps School.

Two block art print in black & pink that shows a feminine figure braiding their hair.

Brianna Fox: tedious

Robert D. and Betsy D. Richards Memorial Award: Established by Dean's Advisory Council Emeritus Member Betsy D. Richards (AB Ed '49 and AM '71) to provide student awards at the Undergraduate Juried Exhibition.

'LoBack Meat Co.' is a 18” x 24” 6-layer reduction woodblock print on paper based on a photograph of a neon sign at Seattle's Pike Place Market. The sign's typography reads "LoBACK MEAT CO. QUALITY ALWAYS," but it has been cropped to "BACK MEA QUALITY ALW." The neon sign itself is a bright ocean blue in the upper foreground of the image, with the letters themselves contrasting in a rich yellow-orange. The outside of each letter is outlined in a bright purple, making the letters appear three-dimensional against the sign's blue background. A hallway leading back into space is depicted in the background, with a line of circular lights fading into the background on the faded purple ceiling. While the sign and typography stand out in a graphic way, the scene feels nostalgic and faded. Within the image's background is a faded gray rectangular sign with letters that look like words but are too illegible to read. The nostalgic feel of the words and the faded color palette are representative of a memory for me. I began to experience chronic memory loss after being diagnosed with mold poisoning shortly after graduating from high school. I was able to take a road trip across the Pacific Northwest with my stepfather in the summer of 2021. This was the first trip I was able to take since becoming well enough after my diagnosis, and I took hundreds of photos out of fear of forgetting the memories we were making. Each edition of this print explored the feeling of nostalgia, much like the flash of a memory we get of a time and place we can't quite pinpoint that's buried deep in our subconscious. Looking closer at the image, each cut is quite expressive as I explored my spirit and self through the cuts of the woodblock. As each subsequent print is printed, the previous one is carved away, leaving a fully carved block at the end.

Paige Gilstad: LoBack Meat Co.

John H. McCluney Memorial Achievement Award: Established in loving memory of John McCluney (BS DES '67) to provide support to a senior student who displays particular excellence in the area of photography or graphic design.

A multimedia sculpture of a decomposing deer surrounded by moss. The deer lies on its side in a fetal position with its legs curled in front of it and its ribcage exposed, showing the dark red flesh and ribs inside. Its skull is angular and off-white, with rows of uneven teeth and empty eye sockets. A small yellow bird is perched on one of the antlers. The deer lies on a bed of green moss, which crawls up into the interior of the ribcage, the floor of which is covered by thick vegetation and grasses, some of which is painted with glitter and soft pastels of pink, blue, and purple. This mossy world inside the ribcage is scattered with sparkling iridescent stones and small fairy lights that are hidden among the vegetation. Small shiny beads hang from the “ceiling” of the ribcage on clear strings, and are lit by the lights inside.

Catherine Ramsey: ...And God taketh away

Guy Palazzola Memorial Award: Established in memory of Professor and Associate Dean Emeritus Guy Palazzola for excellent student work at the Undergraduate Juried Exhibition.

Ceramic vessel painting with underglaze incorporating Arabesque patterns

Yasmine Safadi: Mazhariyah

Opportunity Fund: Awarded from the Stamps School of Art and Design Stamps Opportunity Fund, a fund supported by annual gifts from donors to provide unrestricted resources to the Stamps School.

This image features the main character, Elle, sitting on a couch as psychedelic imagery fills the entire room.

Elle Schwiderson: Scraping the Edge

Guy Palazzola Memorial Award: Established in memory of Professor and Associate Dean Emeritus Guy Palazzola for excellent student work at the Undergraduate Juried Exhibition.

This a portrait of a girl surrounded by the undulating waves. The girl is looking at the red sun in the distance, the koi print on her face leap towards the light. The work is mainly covered in the green and blue color pallet of the waves, yet the sun and koi print are in visually striking red.

Siyu Zhong: Koi

William A. Lewis Watercolor Prize: Established by Professor and Associate Dean Emeritus William A. Lewis (BDES '48) to support excellence in watercolor by undergraduate students.

The exhibition opens with a reception from 6 — 8pm on Friday, February 10. On Saturday, February 11, join exhibiting students for a walkthrough with the artists from 2 — 4pm. All events take place at Stamps Gallery (201 South Division Street, Ann Arbor) and are free and open to the public.

For more information and to preview the work on view in the gallery, visit the 2023 Undergraduate Juried Exhibition page.