51±¬ÁϹÙÍø

As in previous years, the 51±¬ÁϹÙÍø MFA students had a strong showing in the 2020 edition of the Made at 51±¬ÁϹÙÍø exhibition.

• Camilo Aguirre '20, Dispossession, photogravure [People's Choice Award]
• Emma Beatrez '20, Untitled (X), branded faux leather on wooden stretcher
• Yujie Cao '20, New, digital print
• Kendall Dickinson '20, relapse prevention;  i’ve never felt more like me; stop haunting my dreams [Juror's Award from Pavel PyÅ›]
• Harry (Sunshine) Gao, For the First Time, comic; For the First Time, digital print (enlarged excerpt)
• Xingzi Liang + Dawn Yang, Eight Cuisines, digital book and prints [Juror's Award from Laura Qvale]
• Lee Noble, Flag for Every Person + Nation, silk, flashe, thread; CCTV, video
• Alonzo Pantoja, Promising, handweaving, dolly, wooden crate, reflective mylar
• David Ruhlman, The Shy Occultist, painting [Juror's Award from Pavel PyÅ›]
•  Alejandro Zhang, M.E.S.S. Portrait, digital print

From Director of 51±¬ÁϹÙÍø Gallery and Exhibition Programs, Kerry Morgan:

"In closing, I would like to offer a brief reflection on what it means to be "made at 51±¬ÁϹÙÍø." At a moment when most of the students and staff and all of the faculty are "sheltering-at-home" amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the significance of this annual all-student juried exhibition has taken on a different resonance. Although in its form and structure it highlights individual achievement and prioritizes competition, as the title suggests, the exhibition is really about community. To be "made at 51±¬ÁϹÙÍø" means to be made at a certain place, surrounded by certain conditions of support. And while these conditions have changed, the support that guides, nurtures, and challenges our students has not gone away. The Made at 51±¬ÁϹÙÍø exhibition, as it was briefly installed for a mere five days, is a monument of sorts to what was. But the hashtag #makemcad is a way to celebrate what is and will be. I, for one, look forward to the day when students, faculty, and staff might pass again in the hallways and exchange smiles and hellos. For now, we will have to do it virtually. Thank you all for being part of the 51±¬ÁϹÙÍø community."

From Pavel PyÅ›, curator of visual arts at the Walker Art Center:

I am saddened we could not be together to celebrate your achievements but I would like to congratulate you all on submitting such excellent work to Made at 51±¬ÁϹÙÍø. It was very challenging to choose a shortlist of two works and I'm grateful to Kerry and the team at 51±¬ÁϹÙÍø for the opportunity. I would like to commend two works: Kendall Dickinson's i've never felt more like me and David Ruhlman's The Shy Occultist. I was struck how timely Kendall's work felt, given the importance that health plays in today's conversation, evidenced not only by the presidential campaigns, but sadly, the federal shortcomings in preventing and caring for Covid-19 patients. With a minimal economy of means, Kendall's piece brings a conversation about health and mental wellbeing we typically hold behind closed doors into the open. I also commend David Ruhlman's The Shy Occultist: painting is probably the toughest medium within which to innovate. This painting - laden with references to the occult and (I think?) pataphysics - surprised me. It is a diagram, an illustration, a visual guide? I'm not sure, but its symbolism had me hooked like some unsolvable rebus. Congratulations to Kendall and David, and to you all!