The De Pree Art Center and Gallery at Hope College will host an artist鈥檚 open studio event on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, featuring Robert Aiosa, the 2025 Borgeson Artist-in-Residence and faculty from the college鈥檚 art and art history department.
The open studio event will take place from 4:30-6 p.m. with a behind-the-scenes look at Aiosa鈥檚 process, including current works in production and the opportunity to speak with Aiosa. Hope College sculpture faculty Lisa Walcott and photography faculty Amy Kim will also open their studios featuring new work. The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.
鈥淭he Borgeson residency is unique in that it solicits proposals from artists working in all visual media. We are very excited to have Bobby share his artistic process with us and are looking forward to introducing his work to the community," said Amy Kim, assistant professor of art and director of the Borgeson Artist in Residence and Scholars program.
Robert 鈥淏obby鈥� Aiosa is an Orlando, Florida-based visual artist and assistant professor of sculpture at the University of Central Florida. He works through site-specific installation while employing construction-grade materials processes and intricate carving techniques. Aiosa investigates architecture and the constant interaction of it with the human experience, a process affecting social dynamics, economic situations and the natural world. He peels back layers of the built environment鈥檚 elaborate pageantry to reveal a testimony of its social and cultural history. Aiosa contrasts geometry and grids, long associated with minimalism, with intricately carved bones, foliage and other natural forms that, since moving to Florida, have become intrinsic to his constructions. His work has been shown in museums and galleries throughout the United States, including the 2019 Florida Prize exhibition at the Orlando Museum of Art. He is the recipient of many residencies, awards and fellowships, most recently from the Windgate Foundation and the Museum for Art in Wood in Philadelphia.
The annual Borgeson Artist-in-Residence program was inaugurated at Hope College in 2016 through the generosity and enthusiasm of alumni Clarke 鈥�72 and Nancy Rayner 鈥�72 Borgeson.
Throughout the 12-week summer residency, the artist receives a private studio and full access to De Pree facilities, alongside a stipend, a cottage within walking distance to De Pree and travel expenses to and from the residency. The residency culminates in a fall exhibition and artist talk that is also open to the public.
The De Pree Art Center and Gallery is located at 275 Columbia Ave.
Due to Columbia Avenue road construction, public parking for this event is available off 13th Street, adjacent to the De Pree Art Center and Gallery.
To inquire about accessibility or accommodations to fully participate in the event, please email accommodations@hope.edu.