RISD Students Finish Strong at Campus-Wide Spring 2025 Critiques

RISD’s campus was jumping in May as students presented their work to peers, professors and industry professionals at this year’s final spring critiques. First-year students in an Experimental and Foundation Studies Drawing course led by faculty member Jessica Tam covered the studio walls with large-scale pieces exploring composition, color and perspective. Noelle Wilson 28 EFS showed a series of sparkly tableaus inspired by commercial photography found in teen magazines (see top image). The class remarked on the palpable energy rising off the pages, and guest critic Andrew Fish praised her ability to “lean into the sacred feminine.”

Brown|RISD Dual Degree student Alysha Lai BRDD 28 TX also experimented with shine in the beautiful assortment of textiles she showed critics in the College Building nearby. “Your sense of materiality is really strong, and the play of matte and shimmer is wonderful,” noted Associate Professor of Textiles Mary Anne Friel. Assistant Professor Amalia Goldana Broche praised her playful approach and “commitment to exploring the structure of the weave.”

Students in an advanced Architecture studio called De Facto Providence braved the weather to present their final projects on Moore Terrace. Led by Assistant Professor Stephanie Rae Lloyd, whose practice leverages the potential of contemporary art and design to contest conventional modes of architectural production, the course challenged students to create “experimental assemblages” that meet the programming needs of chosen sites across the city.

Another conceptual Architecture course—Urban Metabolisms, led by designer, researcher and filmmaker Laura-India Garinois—explored how architecture can engage infrastructure not simply as a backdrop but as an active agent in urban transformation. Yana Tsyvis BArch 26 focused on the role of grass in Providence’s architecture as a window into the ways that building designs create microclimates. Visiting critic Ekin Bilal—a teaching fellow at MIT—appreciated her “subversive” take on the subject, and Department Head Jacqueline Shaw noted “the beauty of this kind of work in casting a wide net to test different forms of data and then zero in on a specific research question.”

Also in the Architecture + Design division, Industrial Design sophomores in a course taught by faculty member Matt Cavallaro 10 ID presented prototypes of individual projects they developed over the course of the semester. McKenzie Chase 27 ID created the Circadian Lamp in response to poor existing lighting systems. The wooden fixture features a built-in planter that further contributes to the user’s mental wellness. Visiting critic Rue Sakayama 06 FAV, executive director of local nonprofit DESIGNxRI, found the form to be appealing and liked the way that Chase’s in-depth research clearly informed her design decisions.

Industrial Design majors enrolled in a popular elective taught by Kate Blacklock MFA 87 CR explored the principals involved in designing and producing ceramics objects for the home. Students presented final glazed and fired collections focused on form and function to a team of critics including former Blacklock student Eunbee Willcox-Healey 13 ID.

Grad student Si Ning Chen MID 27 presented a collection of uniquely shaped tableware and complementary incense holders. “I like to play with different forms and glazes,” she told the group. Blacklock applauded her drive to experiment and her understanding of the material and pointed out that “it’s sometimes necessary to change the original design to make it more functional. Think of it not as a compromise, but as a challenge,” she added.

Graduating senior Ryan Yan 25 GD brought the Graphic Design community together in the Design Center’s GD Commons for a unique final presentation investigating online communication called Nothing in Between. Participants sitting with their laptops open took an active role in computer-mediated communication, the normally passive channel we use to feel connected while still setting boundaries.

“When we interact through screens, we construct and navigate complex topographies of meaning, presence and absence that exist beyond the linear,” Yan explains. “Presented through a series of interactive experiments and speculative interfaces, this project reframes nothingness not as emptiness, but as generative potential to transform misunderstanding and mistranslation into connectedness.”

The sense of camaraderie was also strong in the RISD Auditorium, where Furniture Design students and faculty members gathered to critique work by juniors in courses taught by Professor Lothar Windels BID 96 and faculty member Jim Cole. Windels was particularly taken with a woven chair by Elizabeth Che 26 FD, who is exploring how natural patterns can contribute to furniture that provides the user with “quiet companionship” and create a sense of calm. “I’m really impressed with your meticulous design process,” Windels said, “and see this piece as a completely unique object.”

Top image: first-year student Noelle Wilson shows a series of sparkling compositions inspired by commercial photography found in teen magazines.

Simone Solondz / photos by Jo Sittenfeld MFA 08 PH
June 3, 2025