Each academic year, graduate students in the Critique Seminar course at Eastern Michigan University showcase their work in a combined exhibition. This year’s exhibition, "Visceral Soup," includes the work of 11 Master of Fine Arts students at EMU’s School of Art and Design.
The exhibition is at 22 North Gallery, located at 22 N. Huron St., Ypsilanti. The gallery hours are Saturdays and Sundays, 2-5 p.m., and the exhibition will run April 3-14, 2026. The public reception will be April 3 from 5-7 p.m.
The show includes a variety of different art forms, including ceramics, sculptures, furniture, printmaking, animation, paintings and one installation piece.
Nan Plummer, the director of 22 North Gallery, and Brian Spolans, Critique Seminar professor, work together to select artwork that students submitted to be in the show, Plummer said.
The name "Visceral Soup" highlights the range of work included.
“Things that are visceral sort of hit you in the guts. We have a lot of different aspects of our art going on," said Ginger Chase, an MFA student and featured artist. "'Visceral Soup' is what we came up with."
Among the many works of art, there is one installation piece. The piece includes natural and man-made elements, many of which are found objects.
“It's an iteration of something called Ecstatic Abundance, so I'm really thinking about how we have a sense of scarcity and some disconnect from the natural world, and also kind of a weird relationship between human-made objects and natural spaces. So, there's this conversation between shape, form and material, and creating a relationship between these things,” Chase said.
MFA student Sean Harris has both a painting and a sculpture in the show. His work is largely inspired by his grandmother and great aunt, who both recently died from cancer. His painting, "Crushed into the Cave," is meant to represent the crushing feeling of a cancer diagnosis. His work is meant to honor and uplift those with cancer and their loved ones, Harris said.
"Through abstraction and symbolism, I convey the physical and emotional devastation that affects both the individuals experiencing illness and their loved ones. The trees serve as a metaphorical space for the resilience of cancer patients," Harris said.
