Teresa Dunn’s “US” exhibition at the Sisson Art Gallery

Artist Teresa Dunn’s “US” exhibition is on display in HFC’s Sisson Art Gallery on the first floor of the MacKenzie Fine Arts Center (Building F on the main campus) until Thursday, February 13.

The Sisson's hours for the Winter 2025 semester are:

• Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday: 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
• Wednesday: 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

MSU art professor’s artistry exhibited throughout the U.S. and Europe

Raised in southern Illinois, Dunn is a Mexican American artist and educator known for her colorful paintings of people that are often influenced by her racial and cultural heritage.

"In the last few years, I accept that a large part of who I am and what I make has been about disconnect, absurdity, non sequitur, and relationships that misalign,” Dunn said in a 2021 interview with All SHE Makes. “Instead of focusing solely on my personal struggle, I am painting the stories of other people with complex racial and cultural identities, too.”

An alumna of Missouri State University and Indiana University Bloomington, Dunn has been an associate professor of painting and drawing at Michigan State University since 2006. She is a three-time recipient of the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Fellowship, a recipient of the Jacob K. Javits Fellowship from the U.S. Department of Education, and a recipient of the Puffin Foundation Limited Grant. She was also a Sustainable Arts Foundation finalist.

Dunn attended the Vermont Studio Center Residency and Cuttyhunk Island Residency. She has conducted many lectures, including at the Rome Art Program in Rome, Italy. Her artwork has been exhibited around the United States and in Europe. It is in the permanent collections in the Dennos Museum Center at Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City and in the Zillman Art Museum at the University of Maine.

Making her Motor City debut at the Sisson

HFC Faculty Chair of Fine and Performing Arts Steve Glazer organized Dunn’s exhibition and her reception. Glazer learned about Dunn at the end of the Winter 2024 semester when there was an exhibition of her artwork at Central Michigan University. Intrigued, Glazer drove to Mt. Pleasant to see the exhibition in person, which made quite an impression on him.

“I was blown away by the artist's control of the human figure, especially using the bright colors that her paintings are bathed in,” said Glazer. “I began thinking, ‘I would love to have this work on our campus at HFC.’ It wasn't until I got home that evening and had a chance to look the artist up that I found out she taught at MSU. I also soon found out that Ms. Dunn has exhibited work on the west side of Michigan, New York City, all over much of the U.S. and in Europe, but never in the Metro Detroit area. Within days, I had reached out to her, and we began planning the exhibition at the Sisson. This is Ms. Dunn's Motor City debut. Hopefully, it’s just the start of things to come.”