I was extremely impressed with the work I saw jurying this year's student show and had great difficulty selecting pieces when there was so much exceptional work. I choose pieces based on my criteria of craftsmanship, conceptual maturity and personal voice. Despite all the limitations and stress that both COVID and contemporary politics have imposed on the students this year, they have risen above and continued to make excellent work at a skill level and maturity that rivals collegiate art departments. I am so proud of my alma mater. It was an honor to juror this show.

When I saw My Mother (1977) and I (2019) I had no doubt that it would be my selection for best in show. Not only did the work excel in craftsmanship, design, originality, and conceptual maturity, it also unveiled itself slowly as a beautiful story about time, love and coming of age. I was struck by its tenderness in both the narrative of a mother-daughter relationship and the fine attention to detail in each tapestry. The imagery of photographs, handwritten letters and notes are everything you might find in a family's junk drawer but are instead recreated and scaled to become monumental objects that mark the passage of time. The portraits of mother and daughter are positioned on either side, inverted in color and separated by veils of understanding. One of the most difficult things to do in life is learning how to forgive your parents and is a complicated subject to portray, yet the artist captured her story with vulnerability and eloquence. Incredible work.

Best,

Anna Huff

@annahuff42