Faculty Research Presentations - University of Iowa

I’m excited to be talking about what I’ve been doing the past few months under the Iowa Artist Fellowship this Friday from 12:30 to 1:30pm in E125 Visual Arts Building. The lovely Rachel Cox will also be presenting during this semester’s Faculty Research Presentations. Hope to see you there! ✨🪩

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Spring 2025 Faculty Research Presentations:
Ali Hval and Rachel Cox
Friday, April 11, 12:30-1:30pm, E125 VAB

Ali Hval is an Assistant Professor of Instruction in Painting and Drawing. She has received grants from the lowa Arts Council as well as the Center of Craft, Creativity, and Design. Ali’s work involves creating ceramic and fabric sculptures that echo pieces of oversized jewelry, shoes, and other fashion items. As a 2024-25 lowa Artist Fellow, Ali has begun expanding this visual language by merging her sculptural jewelry forms with everyday domestic objects. With fellowship support, she is also developing wearable garments that allow performers to activate these pieces, engaging with immersive, mural-painted environments that further blur the boundaries between body, object, and space.

Rachel Cox is an artist, educator, and feminist with a deep commitment to crafting image-based works of art which challenge cultural and social conventions pertaining to reproduction and care. Cox’s current project, Portrait of a Woman, has been recognized with numerous awards including an lowa Arts Project Grant, a Puffin Foundation Grant, as well as the 2024 Visionary Project Award through Film Photo & Kodak, and was selected for the 2025 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition, hosted and exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC. Cox’s current research considers the implications of sharing works of art depicting nude femme bodies; a photographic tradition that is wrought with misogyny and objectification. In her presentation she will explain the significance of materials and craft as valuable tools when subverting established systems of image consumption. PLEASE NOTE: This lecture will contain images of nudity and hormone injections as well as references to miscarriage and abortion.

Inclusion in Spring 2025 Catalogue

Very excited to be a part of the “I Like Your Work Spring” 2025 catalogue, curated by Leah Triplett. 🍭🍬🍩✨ And so very glad this candy-filled lady is getting the love and attention she deserves.

My dear friend Alexis Beucler sent me this quote from artist Caroline Wayne yesterday: ‘When our own truth feels too ugly to face, often our best deflection is to cover it in confection.’

With that in mind, here’s a giant, twisted sprinkle comb for your Monday perusal. At 18 inches long, from its tiniest tooth to its wiggly handle, it’s undeniably adorbs but entirely impractical—much like trying to comb through today’s wonky political landscape. Every morning, we wake up to a fresh tangle of headlines, proposed policies, and decisions. I have already been affected by them as I know many others have. And yet, we push forward, going through our daily routines and still throwing on a cute outfit—because sometimes, dressing up and continuing to get out there is the only way to deal. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Expect more of these comb and hairbrush buddies to emerge over the next few months. The “sprinkles” are painted with glossy nail polish and the base is high fired stoneware with plenty of bedazzling.

Thank you Marloe Spencer and The Eagle Voice for the wonderful writeup about my exhibition at Kirkwood Community College, “Everyday Objects Become Masterpieces Of An Artist.”

“Upon entering the exhibit, visitors are greeted by a massive chain practically dripping in thousands upon thousands of aurora borealis gemstones hanging from the ceiling and snaking its way down until it begins to curl upon the floor…  This chain design captures the message of the work clearly, especially when considering the labor involved in placing every tiny gem. It reminds the viewer of the chains that seem to be tightening as the rights of many go up for debate in the political arena.”

This exhibition is up for one more week.

Orange County Center for Contemporary Art Exhibition Inclusion

I am thrilled to have “Prim and Proper (Power Bracelet)” featured in “Fashionistas 2025” at the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art! This group exhibition, now on view at @occcart in Santa Ana, CA, showcases art inspired by fashion’s bold theatrics—and pushing boundaries through a variety of media. Click here to see a walkthrough of the exhibition. I’m excited to have a spot by the window so the piece is able to be viewed by passersby.

From the @oooca show description:

“ABOUT FASHIONISTAS 2025:
FASHION PROVOKED AND INSPIRED ART. AN EXHIBITION WORTHY OF CELEBRATION AND CRITIQUE HIGHLIGHTING FASHION AS A SEDUCTIVE POWERHOUSE IN CONTEMPORARY CULTURE FIGHTING BACK AGAINST MEDIOCRITY, CONVENTIONAL THINKING AND BAD TASTE.

With an irrepressible joie de vivre, FASHIONISTAS 2025 features fashion’s ‘street theater, inspiring artists to reach new heights of creative push-back through this captivating and wide-ranging exhibition of text, symbols, posters, placards, videos, photography, paintings, sculptures, functional objects, installations, and new media projects.”

"This Charmed Life" Open Through March

Obligatory face photo for the algorithm to hopefully land myself on your feed. 🤷🏼‍♀️ This big woven structure with pearlescent accents was a delight to paint, and isn’t the only mural in the space. More photos coming soon! If you missed the opening, “This Charmed Life” is up through March at Coe College. The gallery is open 4-6pm daily (minus a few days at the end of February), so come on by! 🥅🥅🥅 Thank you to everyone who did show up - I had a blast.

You can always contact me to find out if the gallery is open before heading over.

Women In Arts Network Interview

A big thank you to Women in Arts Network for the interview and virtual studio visit. You can read the full article here.

"Hands Off" @ "This Charmed Life"

Here are some clips of a few movements from my talented friend and performer, Leisha Stanek, from last night! She shifted between being an object and a performer throughout the opening—at times striking sculpturesque poses against a mural, and at others navigating dynamically through the space or weaving around visitors. For a solid two hours, she brought the space to life in a mesmerizing, sparkly way I could never dream of doing myself.

Thank you to everyone who came out. It meant so much to see so many familiar faces from Cedar Rapids! Having the chance to reconnect with people I've worked with over the years and share what I’ve been up to lately filled my heart with all sorts of warm, fuzzy feelings. If you missed the opening, the gallery is open from 4-6pm during the week for two more months.

As I will frequently be tacking on to the end of my posts the next few months, I am grateful for the funding this year from the Iowa Arts Council. The Iowa Artist Fellowship has allowed me to be able to produce such a labor intensive garment like this one, as well as collaborate with talented performance artists in the region, like Leisha. Seeing how everything came together last night reassured me that it’s okay to rely on others for areas where I have less experience, like performance. 💞✨

"Sugared Sweets Are the Devil's Treats"

A recent favorite piece of mine that will be shown for the first time this evening is titled "Sugared Sweets are the Devil's Treats." It is an oversized charm bracelet that is overflowing with bedazzled ceramic charms that are a blend of sweet treats and sex toys. To name a few charms, there is a ring pop, a rabbit vibrator, Smarties candy, and an M&M. Growing up in the South, I was surrounded by this unspoken rule: we avoid talking about sex. It was hush-hush, steeped in shame, and framed as something inherently bad. Sweets have this strange duality for me as well—something which was so desirable but always paired with warnings: “Too much candy will rot your teeth.”

This piece compares these sexual objects to sweet candy, both things which, at the time, I grew up worrying would rot me as a person the same way. I had this experience of thinking, "What is so bad about this and why is it considered sinful? Should I feel guilty thinking about these things?” This piece plays with this message of how both candy and sex are things we’re drawn to even though we are told they’ll somehow “ruin” us.

This charm bracelet becomes a big, shiny playground for all those mixed feelings, folding humor in with Southern guilt, but ultimately is just a self-portrait of me trying to own it all. It feels like a piece that is long overdue.

For the record, I can safely say I consume a lot of candy and am pretty OK.

"This Charmed Life" Opening Reception

I’m very excited to present my recent solo exhibition, “This Charmed Life,” at Coe College’s Marvin Cone Gallery in Cedar Rapids, Iowa! The opening is this Friday, January 24 from 5-7pm and feature an ongoing performance. This performance will take place solely during the exhibition opening, but the garment will remain in the gallery after. And what do you know - the fantastic Julia J. Wolfe (my former graduate school colleague) will be showing work in the opposite gallery… so you can safely confirm it’s going to be an enjoyable way to spend your Friday evening. 🪩✨

As an aside, the galleries will be closed February 24-March 1.

Many pieces and the performance in the exhibition are graciously funded by the Iowa Arts Council and the NEA.