The University of Iowa’s visual arts campus was alive with activity May 6–8 as the 2024–25 Grant Wood Fellows presented the culmination of their yearlong residencies. Through exhibitions, artist talks, and performance, the Fellows shared work shaped by research, experimentation, and engagement with the university and local landscape.
On Tuesday evening, Grant Wood Printmaking Fellow Elizabeth Claire Rose paused installation of her exhibition to discuss the local inspirations behind her work. Rose has spent the year exploring Iowa’s glacial and Driftless landscapes, studying native flora and fauna and the ecosystems that support them. Highlights of her research include a field of bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) in Turkey Creek Nature Preserve and the fragile habitat of the Iowa Pleistocene snail (Discus macclintocki). These places and organisms are translated into layered works across multiple print media in her exhibition, Drifting Habitat, on view through May 30 in the Drewelowe Gallery (Visual Arts Building).
On Wednesday night, Grant Wood Painting & Drawing Fellow Ada Friedman gathered colleagues and students for A Circle Artist Talk. During the hour-long conversation, Friedman guided the audience through her studio process and longstanding journaling practices. She contextualized the work within a broader history of performance pieces and serial projects developed throughout her career. Her Everyday Drawings combine layers of handwritten text, pigment, collage, and found objects. Friedman’s exhibition, Performance Proposals, Everydays, remains on view through May 16 in the Ana Mendieta Gallery and Upper Atrium of the Visual Arts Building.
The exhibitions officially opened Thursday evening with a debut of Sunup by Grant Wood Fellow Kyle Marshall. At 6 p.m., music filled the Visual Arts Building Atrium as the audience gathered in anticipation. Marshall appeared above the space, emerging over the railing before moving down the ramp. Dressed in a white costume designed by Edo Tastic, Marshall fully embraced the unique Steven Holl-designed space. Marshall expanded the performance onto the ground floor, transforming the atrium into a site of motion and sound. Marshall will return later this month with his full company, Kyle Marshall Choreography, to continue developing the work, with a performance scheduled for May 29 at Space Place (North Hall).
