Christine Bruening, Nathan Byrne, Rey Jeong, and Benjamin Winans: Heartened Surfaces

The Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design at the University of Michigan is proud to announce Heartened Surfaces, on view at Stamps Gallery March 12–May 2, 2021 and online at stampsgrads.org starting Monday, April 26. There will be a virtual artist talk and Q&A on Saturday, March 20 at 5pm.

Featuring work by Christine Bruening, Nathan Byrne, Rey Jeong, and Benjamin Winans, this exhibition is a culminating moment in the two-year Stamps MFA program. Heartened Surfaces is a group show contiaing four individual exhibitons, including:

Christine Bruening: Permeable Bodies
Through an autobiographical narrative navigating personal trauma, Bruening explores the cathartic value within the genre of horror.

Nathan Byrne: Equally Empty
By transposing a graphite drawing by SF Bay Area-based artist Dean Smith into an immersive spatial encounter, Byrne invites viewers to find solace in space and spaciousness.

Rey Jeong: Screaming Yellow
A social sculpture in the form of a pick-up truck, a fake politician’s persona, and short films that explore identity, culture and diaspora, Jeong recontextualizes the power of sharing collective trauma. 

Benjamin Winans: Communion
Winans reimagines symbols of American Christianity, taking them apart and putting them together in new ways that expose misinterpretations and historical undercurrents as a way to collectively imagine reckoning and reconciliation.  

Learn more about the MFA Program at Stamps and about Heartened Surfaces.

Due to COVID-19 safety protocols, Stamps Gallery is open only to the U-M community at this time (Tuesdays and Fridays, 2–7pm). Please refer to the gallery webpage for the latest updates on health and safety policies.