New American Paintings

#93: MFA Annual, Juror: Randi Hopkins, ICA/Boston

Cover: Michael Hilsman

The MFA Annual edition of New American Paintings has quickly become our most popular issue of the year—and rightly so. For nearly two decades, our mission has been to put the work of emerging contemporary artists in the hands of readers, collectors, curators, and painting enthusiasts, and where better to find young, emerging work than in some of best studio programs the country.

We’re very proud to feature our talented friend Randi Hopkins, Associate Curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, as this edition’s juror. Randi has had extensive experience working directly with emerging artists for several years, and her selections make for one of the most exciting group of MFA candidates we’ve published to date. Also included is a Q&A with Randi in the back of the book, in which she talks Rauschenberg, Monet, and Eddie Martinez.

The Spotlight feature for this edition focuses on San Francisco’s Ruth Laskey, previously featured in the 2005 MFA Annual and a recent recipient of a prestigious SECA Art Award from SFMOMA for her handmade linen work. Laskey moved from painting to weaving during grad school, and her work elegantly re-examines the traditional practice of painting.

This is an exciting moment for contemporary painting, with artists—young and old—re-evaluating the use of their materials and investigating the limits of the medium itself. The works contained in this issue reflect some of the most talented and exciting perspectives from emerging young artists in the country. To see a complete list of the artists featured in this year's MFA Annual, and see images of their work, click the link below to keep reading! —Evan J. Garza, Editor-at-Large

Benjamin Edmiston, Untitled (Head) | Gouache, ink, and watercolor on paper, 28 x 22.5 inches

Winners: MFA Annual Competition 2010
Juror: Randi Hopkins, Associate Curator, Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston

Gina Adams, University of Kansas
Njideka Akunyili, Yale University
Sarah Awad, UCLA
Guy Ben-Ari, Columbia University
Tom Betthauser, Yale University
Biff Bolen, University of South Florida
Caetlynn Booth, Rutgers University
Jody Christian, University of North Carolina, Greensboro
Jeremy Couillard, Columbia University
Matthew Craig, Tyler School of Art, Temple University
Benjamin Edmiston, Brooklyn College
Narangkar Glover, UC Berkeley
Zoe Hawk, University of Iowa
Craig Hawkins, Lamar Dodd School of Art
Michael Hilsman, Hunter College
Joyce Ho, University of Iowa
Loie Hollowell, Virginia Commonwealth University
Helena Hsieh, School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Andrea Jensen, University of Arizona
Katie Kehoe, Maryland Institute College of Art
Doron Langberg, Yale University
Nazafarin Lotfi, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Joshua Lynn, Savannah College of Art and Design
Maciej Makalowski, San Francisco Art Institute
Katherine McCullough, Washington University
Mary Jo McGonagle, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Saori Moriizumi, University of Pennsylvania
Julie Oppermann, Hunter College
Andres Ortega, The Lehman College University
Erin Payne, Claremont Graduate University
Marcus Payzant, University of Texas at Austin
Cima Rahmankhah, Art Center College of Design
Chris Reno, University of Iowa
Scott Robinson, University of Florida
NANO Rubio, Claremont Graduate University
Emily Stout, Memphis College of Art
Fabian G. Tabibian, Hunter College
Rebecca Volinsky, Parsons The New School for Design
Adam Weir, Towson University
Leah Wolff, Columbia University