As I juried submissions for this exhibition, Food for Thought, I discovered dynamic cross-sections of values and cultures represented in the artwork. While the topic of food may appear to be familiar in art genres, this exhibition calls into question, both subject and content as the nutrients to examine and think critically. In this way, selected works demonstrate a range of inquiries that strive to unpack the discursive intersections of meaning beyond the symbolic depiction of food as a subject alone.

Multifaceted images rooted in, but not limited to site-specificity, community, consumption, and process began to emerge as motifs from the submissions. Artists challenge expectations around the origins of and relationships to food through specific experiences and interpretations, as precise to the material act of the artwork itself. Meanwhile, the exhibition showcases diverse regional, national, and global perspectives. Traditional and non-traditional approaches using paint, photography, plaster, ink, textiles, felt, wax, wood, bronze, are often layered with sensory narrative and tactile engagement.

I hope that Food for Thought presents new ways to consider the profound connections between how we think about food and how that conscious inquiry, whether individual or communal, familiar or unfamiliar, is part of the shared human experience. It was my privilege and honor to view a vast range of submissions for this exhibition. Thanks to everyone that applied for this open call and MFA for the invitation to serve as the juror.

- Kyle Hackett, Professor of Painting and Drawing at James Madison University