Congratulations to the Award Winners of SUMMA 2024
April 16, 2024
McMaster Museum of Art is very excited to share the award recipients for emerging artists participating in this year’s BFA graduating exhibition SUMMA 2024. Guest curator Christina Leslie and the McMaster School of the Arts faculty presented these awards to students during the Opening Reception held on Thursday, April 11. Congratulations to all the artists and award winners!
The Museum Award, selected by curator Christina Leslie, was presented to Geneva Cooper. Two honourable mentions for the Museum Award were presented to Anna George, and Jacob Micallef. The Faculty Award, selected by the School of the Arts faculty, was presented to Matthew Bailey. Two honourable mentions for the Faculty Award were presented to Ardyn Gibbs, and Hyemin Jenny Kim.
Learn more about each of these emerging artists below and be sure to visit SUMMA 2024: Yearbook, on view until April 26, 2024!
Geneva Cooper is a 22-year-old multidisciplinary artist. She is half Ojibwe and half Scottish-Irish descent. Her practice consists mostly of sculpture and digital drawing, however, she enjoys exploring various mediums. Her concepts tend to focus on her identity as an Indigenous woman, and she uses her art as a way to express emotions that may be difficult to communicate through words.
Half-Breed
polymer clay, beading
Anna George‘s practice is driven by process and materiality through sculpture, printmaking, and installation. She explores themes of degradation, impermanence, and waste. Anna finds inspiration in the process of making, treating the production not as a mode for creation but rather a part of the work itself; creating a language between the materiality of natural and manufactured objects.
Slippery Slope
installation – ceramics
Jacob Micallef primarily works in sculpture, with a focus on texture and naturally found materials. He encourages interaction between himself, his artwork and the viewers with immersive installation pieces. Jacob’s practice heavily involves magnetite as the focus material for its unique texture, mixed with polymer to form layered structures and form.
Metamorpho
mixed media
Matthew Bailey‘s practice consists of meticulous exploration of multiple mediums, experimenting with integrated art and multimedia. His work combines themes of queerness, comfort, natural forms, reconstruction, healing, and identity. These themes are explored primarily through fibre work, printmaking, ceramics, poetry, and installation.
Un-intention
textile, woodworking, dyed cotton, ceramic installation
Ardyn Gibbs (they/them) is an emerging queer and trans, settler-Indigenous (Mohawk) artist and arts worker located on the territories of the Haudenosaunee, Anishnaabe, and Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation otherwise known as Hamilton, ON. Using digital new media technologies Ardyn’s work explores themes of queer futurism, digital dreaming, and visibility/legibility of queer bodies in public spaces. Ardyn is passionate about collective dreaming, placekeeping, public art and fostering meaningful connections. Their work is constantly changing, adapting and growing with the world around them.
SOFTER FUTURES
digitally rendered animation
Born in Korea, raised in the Philippines and working in Canada, Hyemin (Jenny) Kim views her artistic practice and community to be a crucial part of understanding her intersectional experiences in a eurocentric colonial society. Through exploration of materiality, Jenny critically engages in various concepts such as diaspora, critical race theory, and intersectionality rooted from her lived experiences.
Maebyeong (Plum Bottle) Decorated with Turtles and Clouds
ceramic
These artist bios are from the exhibition catalogue, available to read in the gallery space. Catalogue copy editing courtesy of Anna George and Camryn Hardaker-Schabauer.
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