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Art Department News

Joel Tauber’s Social Practice Project & Performance
MUSE Winston-Salem is hosting the U.S. premiere of Chavruta: A Model for Discourse Today, a social practice project and performance by Joel Tauber, artist, filmmaker, and Department of Art Professor of Filmmaking and Video Art. The event will be held […]
Lydia Smith Featured in Two FotoFocus Biennial Exhibitions
Professor of Studio Art, Lydia Smith, is a featured artist in two exhibitions by FotoFocus Biennial. The first exhibition, Haunting, is currently up at the Columbus College of Art & Design: Beeler Gallery in Ohio, September 3 until November 11. […]
Lynne Johnson Travel Award Reflection by Caroline Helmer (’26)
The Lynne Johnson Travel Award is a fund awarded to Art History majors and minors to support travel to view art in person. This past summer, the Wake Forest Art Department is happy to fund Caroline Helmer, an art history […]
Lynne Johnson Travel Award Reflection by Yolanda Fan (’27)
During the summer of 2025, the Lynne Johnson Travel Award in the Art Department supported Art History major Yolanda (’27) in traveling to Suzhou, China to study Classical Chinese gardens firsthand. Established in honor of Dr. Lynne Johnson, the award […]
ART COURSE INFO: SUMMER / FALL 2026
Check out the new Studio Art & Art History courses offered in the Summer/Fall 2026! Summer Courses

Department Events

Joel Tauber's Chavruta: A Model For Discourse Today

October 1 / 7pm / MUSE Winston-Salem / 226. S Liberty St.

Joel Tauber's Chavruta: A Model For Discourse Today

October 15 / 7pm / MUSE Winston-Salem / 226. S Liberty St.

Joel Tauber's Chavruta: A Model For Discourse Today

October 29 / 7pm / MUSE Winston-Salem / 226. S Liberty St.

Exhibitions

stArt Gallery Exhibition: Conditions of Layering
Jan 20- Feb 6 / stArt Gallery Reynolda Village Opening Reception: Thursday, January 22
Hanes Gallery Exhibition: Timely Conversations
Jan 29 – Mar 21 / Hanes Gallery Opening Reception: Thursday, January 29th, 5-7 pm Timely Conversations features a selection of works from the Wake Forest University Art Collection and highlights contemporary artists who explore the interconnected themes of history and time. The exhibition presents artworks in dynamic pairings that are intended to spark unexpected connections […]
BRC Gallery Exhibition: Between Wind and Drifts Suspended . . . Heart Through the Mind, Selections from Faber’s Intermediate & Advanced Printmaking
February 9 – April 29 / Farrell Hall Suite A05 / Brockway Recruiting Center Gallery
stArt Gallery Exhibition: In Loving Memory of my Childhood
Feb 16 – Mar 7 / stArt Gallery Reynolda Village Opening Reception: Thursday, February 19, 5-6 PM
stArt Gallery Exhibition: Through Our Eyes
February 25 / 5-7 pm / stArt Gallery Downtown Opening Reception: February 25

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Faculty Spotlight!

We’re celebrating Wake Forest faculty artist Lydia Smith, whose work is currently featured in Haunting at Beeler Gallery as part of the FotoFocus Biennial.

Smith’s Cyclorama Shrum Mound brings together approximately 2,000 years of Indigenous history within a single panoramic view of a burial mound. Through the work’s immersive form and layered imagery, Smith considers the ways landscapes carry memory—and how histories continue to resonate in the present. Her work is part of Haunting, an exhibition exploring artists’ restless relationships with time: what we inherit from the past, what we experience in the present, and what we carry into the future.

Congratulations to Lydia on this exciting exhibition!

Cyclorama (Shrum Mound) (2026)
Archival Inkjet Print on Cloth, Steel Armature
15.5 ft x 15.5 ft x 7.5 ft

Haunting, Beeler Gallery at Columbus College of Art & Design
September 3–November 11, 2026
Lydia Smith, Wake Forest faculty artist

Check out the link in our bio for more information on the exhibition!

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We’re proud to spotlight Professor Joel Tauber as he brings his social practice project “Chavruta: A Model for Discourse Today” to MUSE Winston-Salem.

The event will be held on three separate evenings: October 1, October 15, and October 29 from 7-8:30 p.m. Individuals can attend a single event or all three, each event is free, but registration is required. Guests are encouraged to attend multiple events to engage more deeply with the social practice of chavruta, but single event participation is also welcome!

Each evening opens with a screening of Tauber’s award-winning film “Razor-Sharp: When Arguing Is A Good Thing,” which explores the ancient Jewish practice of Chavruta (heated discourse and constructive debate). Afterward, a live Chavruta discussion will be performed with a different guest each night.

Please click the link in our bio to register or for more information!

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This Thursday!! Celebrate the opening of Hank Willis Thomas: High Visibility with @hanesgallery. Don't miss it!

Peruse this insightful exhibition while enjoying music DJ’ed by Dr. Claire Crawford; play trivia with the WFU Intercultural Center to win prizes; refuel with food and drinks; and make your own artwork inspired by the exhibition. This event is free and open to the public.

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Faculty Spotlight!

ACE Fellow Jennifer Gentry served as graphic designer, shaping the visual identity of Catalyst: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Service-Learning and Community Engagement.

Check out more about the process and access the journal in our bio!

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Join us this Friday from 3-5 at Farrell Hall for the opening of "Athletic"! Drawn from Professor John Pickel's summer Digital Photography class, these images celebrate athleticism at @wfuniversity.

The athletic body has long occupied a significant place in the history of visual representation, from the idealized figures of ancient Greek sculpture to Eadweard Muybridge’s studies of human motion. The photographers in Athletic were asked to engage with this history while moving beyond conventional sports photography. Rather than simply documenting athletic events or achievement, they approached movement, physical effort, and the body as subjects for formal and conceptual exploration.

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Student Spotlight!

Today we are spotlighting Mati Romagnoli (‘27), an art history major, who traveled to Rome and Florence thanks to the Lynne Johnson Award, a travel fund awarded to art majors and minors to allow them to see art in person.

Thanks to the fund she was able to see in person the art of the Macchiaioli, a 19th century Italian art movement rarely on view in American institutions.

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Did you know that the Art Department has funds available for student research and travel? Last summer, WFU art history major Yolanda Fan traveled to Suzhou, China to study Classical Chinese gardens firsthand. Funded by the department's Lynne Johnson Travel Award, Yolanda visited seven gardens.

She writes, "While walking through the gardens, I took note of the borrowed scenery and the relationship between the built and natural environments. I observed Classical Garden elements such as the flowing water, Taihu rocks, architecture, and framed views, unfolding gradually before my eyes. The trip also allowed me to connect my prior coursework to my experiences in the gardens, particularly the Arts of China course taught by Professor Gao. The coursework provided a foundational understanding of the principles of Chinese classical gardens, which became much more tangible when experienced in person."

This award will be accepting applications soon, so stay tuned!

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Tomorrow, September 1st, stArt gallery is holding the first reception of the year to celebrate the opening of an exhibition featuring twelve works by twelve great student artists in the John P. Anderson Collection of Student Art.

Established in 1993, the John P. Anderson Student Art Collection consists of artwork purchased annually from WFU student artists as a way to recognize their accomplishments. This year’s exhibition of student work – including pieces from the Honors in Studio Art program – comprises painting, printmaking, sculpture, photography, and digital collage.

We hope to see you there!

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Congratulations to Prof. @joel.tauber on his new exhibition at Adamski/ Berlin: “Creating Discourse: Border-Ball and Razor-Sharp.” "Border Ball" chronicles his 40-day pilgrimage along the U.S. – Mexico border and shares stories of people he met along the way. Tauber walked, repeatedly, from the Otay Mesa Port of Entry in San Diego, along the Border Wall, to the Otay Mesa Detention Center and back. People shared their thoughts and stories and played catch with the artist. "Razor Sharp" explores the ancient Jewish practice of chavruta (heated discourse and constructive debate) and portrays one of its great practitioners: the Gaon (genius) Rabbi Yehuda Aszód (1796-1866) of Hungary. Tauber travels from his home in Winston-Salem, NC, USA to the grave of his ancestor, Rabbi Aszód, in Dunajská Streda, Slovakia. There, Tauber embarks on an immersive form of chavruta dialog with his great-great-great-great-grandfather, as he seeks a greater understanding of this form of communication. This show is open through July 22. Three cheers for Prof. Tauber! Photos by @ludgerpaffrath

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Join us in Hanes Gallery on Wednesday, April 29, from 5–7 PM for the opening reception of Makenzie’s honors exhibition, Driving Rhythms.

On view from April 29 through May 2, this exhibition marks an exciting achievement and showcases Makenzie’s creative work.

We invite you to visit the gallery, support her accomplishment, and experience the exhibition during its limited run.

All is welcome.

More information can be viewed via this link:
🔗 https://hanesgallery.wfu.edu/makenzie-lawson-honors-exhibition/

#wakethearts

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The Lynne Johnson Travel Award is a fund awarded to art history majors and minors to support travel to view art in person.

Art History major Caroline Helmer (‘26) has used the award to travel to Madrid and Seville to conduct on site research for her honors thesis on looting and restitution of art looted during the Napoleonic Wars.

During her travel she was able to learn more about painting techniques due to seeing brushwork in person as well as about the collection history, and how the placement of certain artworks influenced other artists to create.

By examining artworks in person, she discovered cases of looted and returned pieces that were not documented online as looted or returned, allowing her to add examples to her thesis.

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2025 Lynne Johnson Travel Award Spotlight: Yolanda Fan ✨

Last summer, Yolanda Fan (‘27) traveled to Suzhou, China through the Lynne Johnson Travel Award, where she explored seven Classical Chinese Gardens.

Supported by the award, Yolanda moved beyond studying gardens through images and texts to engaging with them in person, where she could observe the intricate relationship between architecture and nature, from flowing water to Taihu rocks.

Building on her coursework in ART 286: Arts of China, she connected theory with lived experience, expanding her perspective and strengthening her approach to studying non-Western art traditions.

We’re excited to see how Yolanda continues to carry this experience into her future work!

🔗 Learn more about her trip and the award: https://art.wfu.edu/2026/03/lynne-johnson-travel-award-reflection-by-yolanda-fan/

🔗Check out her full portfolio: https://fanywsuzhou2025.myportfolio.com/the-garden-of-cultivation

#studenlife #spotlight

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Join us for the opening reception of Mercer’s honors exhibition, The Messy In Between, on Monday, April 20, 5-7 PM, at the start Gallery.

On view from April 20 through April 23, this limited-time exhibition offers a special opportunity to experience Mercer’s work and celebrate this important milestone.

We hope you will stop by, support her work, and spend time with the exhibition while it is on view.

All is welcome.

More information can be viewed via this link:
🔗 https://startgallery.wfu.edu/the-messy-in-between/

#wakethearts

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The Art Department is proud to celebrate the creativity, dedication, and achievements of our Studio Art Honors students: Mercer Fustes, Sarah Marks, Makenzie Lawson, and Blair Newsome.

From April 20 to May 5, their exhibitions will open one by one, showcasing the work they have developed through their artistic practice and research.

We are excited to honor all they have accomplished. More information about each student’s opening reception will be shared soon.

Come support your peers, engage with their work and stories they bring to life through art!

#wakethearts

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New episode just dropped 📷✨

The latest Walk with Wente features Professor Jay Curley — big thanks to him for joining the series! He shares how the stud of art sits at the center of many different disciplines. The episodes highlight the research, teaching, and insights that make Wake Forest faculties so impactful both in and out of the classroom.

🎬 Watch now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoK8kp_2cS0
🔗 Learn more: https://president.wfu.edu/communications/walk-with-wente/

This is also the final faculty video in the Walk with Wente series. Don’t miss it!

#facultyspotlight #wakeforest #walkwithwente

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Curious on how the arts are flourishing at Wake Downtown?

Come drop by Studio 1801 at Wake Downtown (455 Vine St.) on Friday, April 17th, from 4-6pm!

This open house is the perfect opportunity to connect with the student and faculty artists who create in this space, explore how STEM and the arts share space, & enjoy light refreshments.

If you have any questions, Wake Downtown Fellow Alyssa Zaepfel (zaepar21@wfu.edu) would be happy to answer them for you.

#wakethearts #wakedowntown

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A look behind the scenes of Botanical Bridges: Observation and Invention!

Guided by Assistant Teaching Professor of Drawing Lydia Smith and Assistant Professor of Botany Christopher P. Krieg, students in ART 218: Life Drawing had the opportunity to study specimens from the University Herbarium and transform their observations into artworks for the exhibition.

Special thanks to @wakethearts , @wake.botany , and @wfuis_official for sponsoring and helping make this exhibition possible.

Come and drop by the opening reception tomorrow from 2-4 PM, at The Bridge, ZSR.

#wakethearts

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Step into the dark and experience sound in a new way.

Join us for Ways of Knowing: The World According to Sound on Wednesday, April 15 from 5–6:30 PM in Scales 102.

Hosted by the Humanities Institute, this live multi-channel audio event features Chris Hoff and Sam Harnett, co-producers of the Ways of Knowing podcast series. Spend an hour surrounded by sound in total darkness, then stay for a Q&A with the guests.

Free and open to the public.
#wakethearts

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Join us for the opening reception of Botanical Bridges at the Bridge in ZSR Library on Friday, April 17 from 2–4 PM.

Hosted by Information Systems, Botanical Bridges: Observation and Invention features student work from Professor Lydia Smith’s Spring 2026 Life Drawing (ART 218) class. Inspired by the Wake Forest University Herbarium, the exhibition highlights drawings based on its unique collection of plant specimens.

All is welcome!
#wakethearts

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Who gets to own and display the past?

Join ArtSpace for Decolonizing the Museum on Wednesday, April 15 at 6 PM in Scales 110.

ArtSpace is a new student-led discussion forum exploring special topics in art history. This session will examine museums, looted art, and the debate over restitution through case studies and museum examples. We’ll ask what justice, repair, and return might really look like.

Come be part of the conversation.
#wakethearts