Graduate Exhibition Two
May 14 – 22, 2022
May 13 | SAIC COMMUNITY ONLY PREVIEW DAY
SAIC Galleries
33 E. Washington St.
May 14 – 22, 2022
May 13 | SAIC COMMUNITY ONLY PREVIEW DAY
SAIC Galleries
33 E. Washington St.
Graduate Exhibition Two is the culminating presentation of 105 MFA, MA, MARCH and MDES candidates in SAIC’s class of 2022, and an opportunity for them to present new and ambitious work to the public in the SAIC Galleries. Graduate Exhibition Two is the second of two graduate exhibitions this spring.
See Gallery Guide and Floor Plans
Visiting SAIC Galleries
SAIC Galleries welcomes the SAIC community and members of the public to visit the galleries in person. Appointments are required due to the volume of participants in this exhibition. To reserve your spot, please click here. Admission is free.
*All visitors to SAIC Galleries must show a state-issued picture ID and proof of COVID-19 booster vaccination OR proof of a negative COVID-19 test from past 72 hours upon entry and remain masked while in the building.
SAIC Galleries
33 E. Washington St.
Gallery Hours: Monday-Saturday, 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
*SAIC Galleries will also be open on Sunday, May 22, 11:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.
Anna Cai, May 14 – 22, 11 am & 5:45 pm, daily
I-Chien Chen, May 13 – 22, 10 am – 11 am, daily
Sara Prado, May 13 – 22, all day
Ziming Wang, May 13 – 22, all day
Madeleine Aguilar, May 21, 12 pm, 2 pm & 4 pm
I-Chien Chen, May 13 & May 21, 4:30 pm – 5pm
Keny de la Peña, May 21, 3 pm
Ivan Tsai, May 18 & May 20, 11 am – 12 pm & 5 pm – 6 pm
I am thrilled to welcome you to the 2022 graduate exhibitions at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Here you’ll find a culmination of long hours in the studio, deep engagement with materials and texts, and intense discussion with colleagues and faculty. I am so proud of our grads for the ways in which they have navigated the difficult time in our world, dedicating themselves to their work and each other. They have worked through tremendous challenges, when art is both under-resourced and sorely needed. More than ever, we need artists and thought leaders if we are to survive and thrive, as a collective. Our grads have honed technical skills and made formal breakthroughs in and out of their studios, and redefined the relationship between thought, society, and the material world. With the artwork here, our graduates ask the community to join them to imagine new worlds, sustain empathy, and be playful and resourceful. I congratulate this cohort on their resilience and am eager to hear where they go next.
Delinda Collier, Interim Dean of Graduate Studies
The thesis projects presented here share a commitment to the architecture of thought as much as the architecture of things. Asking new questions and raising concerns relevant to the discipline of design and architecture at this moment requires a willingness to explore contingent, fluid and often precarious conditions with the import of pluralistic and interdisciplinary approaches in the research through design process. Click here to read more.
Hennie Reynders, PhD, Professor of AIADO
The Worlds We Build, is the culminating exhibition of the year-long thesis project by the Master of Design, Designed Objects class of 2022. The designers and artists in this exhibition are building worlds that are imagined, altered, reconfigured. Theirs are projects created during an extraordinarily insular period of development that each address important collective and personal issues. Click here to read more.
Designed Objects Faculty: Jim TerMeer Associate Professor, Martha Poggioli Lecturer, and Eric Allan Hotchkiss Assistant Professor, Adjunct
Graduate Exhibition Two assembles a diverse group of 105 artists and designers, all of whom have navigated numerous challenges to pursue professional degrees in the midst of a global pandemic. These obstacles have unquestionably added to the already frenzied and demanding test of endurance that is graduate school. The works displayed in this exhibition have been born of blood, sweat, and tears, created by talented students who have devoted countless hours to developing their practice. Contending with and meeting these challenges has bred resilience—strengthening individuals and deepening the SAIC community’s collective bond. This thesis exhibition not only represents the culmination of two years at SAIC, but more importantly, serves as a foundation for each student’s long term success as they venture onward post graduate school.
The COVID-19 pandemic has instituted a new set of constraints within which to make, work, and live. Students have had to reflect on their previous assumptions about the world, become accustomed to uncertainty, and repeatedly adjust to new baselines. Though the word constraints may often carry a negative connotation, restrictions can also be productive, asking creative minds to imaginatively exceed what was previously believed to be possible. The works in this exhibition are rich expressions of the tenacity and passion students have relied upon to excel in spite of hardship.
Discovering how to thrive in SAIC’s academic environment while simultaneously being asked to reckon with the messiness of contemporary life, the artists and designers in Graduate Exhibition Two present bodies of work that challenge outmoded disciplinary boundaries. The diverse course offerings by renowned faculty equip graduates with expertise that prepares students to be resilient and serious contenders in their fields. The rigorous, interdisciplinary offerings and opportunities at SAIC encourage students to think critically, hone their strengths, and build new skills.
While Graduate Exhibition Two marks the end of a chapter in each student’s formal education, it also serves as a launching pad for careers rooted in learning, creativity, and personal growth. Many incredible opportunities await the artists and designers in this show as they chase and achieve their goals. Without a doubt, this thesis exhibition is an opportunity to learn from and celebrate what our peers have learned throughout their time at SAIC. More excitingly, however, it is also a moment to celebrate the beginning of a new and lengthy chapter for each artist’s and designer’s professional practice.
Graduate Curatorial Assistants: Kelly R Johnston, Sophie Buchmueller, and Elise Butterfield