Oct. 3, 2024

ArtPrize 2024 recognizes talent, creativity of Ferris State’s KCAD community though public, juried awards

ArtPrize, the international art competition based in Grand Rapids, capped off its 2024 event by awarding nearly $400,000 in prize money to outstanding artists from around the world and across various mediums, including six entries with connections to Ferris State University’s Kendall College of Art and Design.

At last Friday’s ArtPrize 2024 Closing Ceremony, artists, organizers and community members gathered outside the Woodbridge N. Ferris Building to celebrate Public and Juried Award winners. 

Five KCAD alumni and two artists featured in the college’s Coming Home exhibition claimed top honors across several categories, including the prestigious Public Grand Prize.

“The achievements of our alumni and featured artists at ArtPrize 2024 is a testament to the incredible talent and creativity fostered within the KCAD community,” KCAD President Tara McCrackin said. “These artists have not only showcased their exceptional skills, but also demonstrated the power of art and design to engage, inspire, and spark meaningful conversations.”

Public Grand Prize Winner

John Katerberg, a 2015 KCAD graduate with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Painting, was awarded the $125,000 Public Grand Prize for his entry "Dynamic Sunset," displayed at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum. 

“I lost count on how many times I have been in ArtPrize and developed a thick skin to adversity and setbacks, so I was fully prepared to not win again,” Katerberg said. “This experience has been surreal.”

Katerberg’s piece is an extraordinary feat of both engineering and artistry that reflects his awe of Michigan’s natural wonders and the resiliency he cultivated in service to his country as a military veteran and Purple Heart recipient.

“This work won the public’s praise because we have such a wonderful universal tie to the lakes that we love,” ArtPrize Executive Director Catlin Whitington said. “So many people felt drawn to this incredibly fascinating and dynamic work.”

Katerberg created the piece’s canvas from 104 pounds of sheet brass and welded steel before using an experimental combination of oil and acrylic paint to render his painting on top. Then, using an original technique he’s dubbed “Illuminated Brass,” Katerberg ground away some of the paint to reveal the steel and brass below, bringing a shimmering depth and illusion of movement to the piece due to the reflection of light off the bare metal.

“I gave it my all in every aspect, from the creation of the piece to pitching it for 10 hours every day,” said Katerberg. “I hope to encourage artists to push themselves to be better and more unique as they develop their skills and not give up when they are dealt disappointment.” 

Katerberg said the win will help him to purchase the equipment and supplies to create a new type of art and gain opportunities from art investors of a higher level. Find out more about his work and creative process here. 

Public Award Winners

The public vote also determined the $10,000 winners for each of the six categories of entry: 2D, 3D, Installation, Time-Based, New Media, and +Design.

Bruce Holwerda, a 1975 KCAD graduate with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Illustration, took home the $10,000 New Media Public Vote Award for his entry "Too Much Information," hosted at DeVos Place Convention Center. 

“I was surprised,” Holwerda said. “Fifteen years ago, I entered ArtPrize in its first year and didn’t get a venue, so that was that. This year I had some new work and an ambitious idea and decided to try again.” 

Holwerda's mixed-media sculpture and accompanying painting speak to his frustrations with the daily barrage of media and information that’s become a seemingly inescapable aspect of modern life.

“I came to Kendall from a small rural community in Muskegon right out of high school and didn’t know the difference between a kneaded eraser and a bag of chips,” Holwerda said. “My time there was magical—the instructors, the projects, even the critiques.” 

Following a career in advertising, Holwerda reinvented himself as a fine artist, spending the next 25 years traveling around America participating in various fine art festivals. “Too Much Information” stands as his first attempt at translating one of his two-dimensional paintings into a three-dimensional sculptural form.

Zak Doezema-Nuñez, a 2024 KCAD graduate with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Sculpture and Functional Art, secured the $10,000 Design Public Vote Award for "Ash Desk with Drawers," displayed at Clear Sky Eyecare. 

The stunning piece of handmade sculptural furniture showcases how Doezema-Nuñez’s skilled craftsmanship accentuates rather than tames the wood’s organic aesthetic.

"I'm immensely honored by the award and grateful beyond measure to my community,” said Doezema-Nuñez. “I intend to use this success to further my budding reputation as a custom furniture designer and builder."

The artist extended a special thanks to KCAD Supervisor of Shops Mark Mulder and KCAD Product Design Professor Robert Marsh for their support and development in his understanding of woodworking craft. 

Doezema-Nuñez creates custom furniture and sculpted kitchen implements for a wide range of clients through his business, Zemanu Design, while also working as a custom cabinet builder for LLDesign Build. 

Juried Award Winners

Along with public selected winning entries, ArtPrize engages a select group of notable critics, curators, educators, and gallerists to serve as jurors, selecting works of exemplary merit within each category to be recognized with a $10,000 award. 

Common Object Studio’s Fernando Ramirez and Justin Beitzel, both 2015 KCAD graduates with Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in Industrial Design, won the $10,000 Design Juried Award for "Understory," a range of sustainable office furniture displayed at the ArtPrize ClubHouse. 

"What sets ‘Understory’ apart is its commitment to community empowerment, sourcing materials locally and supporting farmers,” said Frances Bernardo, ArtPrize juror and leader of Business Programs for Design Core Detroit. “This project shows how design can be both functional and responsible, making Understory a standout success."

Common Object’s collection of office furniture utilizes local wool waste, willow sticks, and salvaged wood, creating 100% bio-based and biodegradable products that return to the earth. The practical application of sustainability principles highlights their relevance in pushing the furniture industry toward circular design.

"We’ve realized that a big part of our work is to both educate and bring the design community into the discussion about what a regenerative future could look like,” said Beitzel. “It felt amazing to watch so many people engage with our project during ArtPrize, and winning the juried award was such a pleasant surprise.” 

Samuelle Green, a featured artist in KCAD's ArtPrize 2024 exhibition Coming Home, received the $10,000 Installation Juried Award for "marshmallow polypore variant" displayed at KCAD’s 17 Fountain Street building. 

Green's immersive installation uses discarded books to highlight the forms and details present in nature that humanity often overlooks and underappreciates, like wasp nests, fungi, and coral.  

"Just being part of ArtPrize allowed me to bring my work to a new audience in Grand Rapids, and that in itself is such an asset to me,” Green said. “Winning a juried award on top of that was an unexpected bonus."

Designed to interact with the space’s architecture, “marshmallow polypore variant” crawls onto the walls and balcony, creating an otherworldly environment while commenting on environmental issues of overconsumption and overproduction of goods in our society.

ArtPrize juror Lora Robertson, Executive Director of the Satellite Collective in New York City, called Green’s installation “a testament to the urgent pleasures of staying connected to the natural world.” 

Green’s work has always been multidisciplinary with a common thread of subject matter—the interaction of human-made and non-human visual world languages. While based in PA, she continues to show her work nationally and internationally. 

Stafford Hiroshi Smith, also featured in KCAD’s Coming Home exhibition, took home the $10,000 New Media Juried Award for "Me So Calgon." Smith's powerful video piece critiques the perpetuation of Asian stereotypes in popular culture through a thoughtful aggregation of artifacts from comics, pop songs, movies, TV shows, and ads.

ArtPrize juror, independent curator and writer Francesca Pessarelli praised Smith's "mastery of video as a medium" and his ability to "communicate the absurdity of these ubiquitous cultural and historical moments without bitterness."

"It was gratifying to be selected by a juror who is knowledgeable and thoughtful about the art world and contemporary directions art is going in,” said Smith. "I am encouraged to produce more work in this vein."

Smith is a 4th-generation Asian-American and Associate Professor of Photography at Grand Valley State University. His work draws from various high and low cultural influences, including postmodernism, comic books, manga, surrealism, Ukiyo-e, and anime.

While ArtPrize 2024 has concluded, visitors can still experience the juried award-winning work by Samuelle Green and Stafford Hiroshi Smith featured in Coming Home. The exhibition remains on view through Nov. 2 inside KCAD’s main campus building at 17 Fountain St. NW in downtown Grand Rapids.