The Department of Art at the School of Art + Design is celebrating Ava Murakami's, Art '27, well-deserved recognition as the 2026 Cornelia Hoppe Art Exhibit artist. The College of Education picked Murkami's work for the annual exhibit and found her expressive figurative paintings invited viewers to slow down and notice the smaller, more human moments that shape our collective days. This exhibit is named for the '51 education alumna and longtime couples and family therapist, Cornelia Hoppe, whose generosity helped establish an enduring space for student art to be featured in HEDCO buildings. Now in its fourth year, the exhibit has served as a public space for exploration and reflection for the many students and community members who pass daily through HEDCO’s main floor.
I aim to illustrate brief, nuanced moments, emphasizing the importance of both connecting and noticing. I invite viewers to notice the beauty in the mundane.
Murakami's work captures the imagination through intimate depictions of people engaging with life in little moments. People sharing coffee and conversation, a brief smile exchanged with a stranger on the sidewalk, the quiet togetherness of reading in a park among others, join together in this year's exhibit. Murakami's careful brushwork and captured scenes invite the user to challenge their preconceived notions on the sublime and to recognize the strength and beauty present in what can be described as "ordinary". Her work looks to help visitors pause and reflect.
“I aim to illustrate brief, nuanced moments, emphasizing the importance of both connecting and noticing. I invite viewers to notice the beauty in the mundane,” Murakami shares with the College of Education.