2026 Faculty Exhibition Showcases New Work by CIA’s Esteemed Faculty

Interdisciplinary artist Zoe Brester-Pennings has enjoyed a busy 2026. At the Cleveland Institute of Art, she’s a professor of practice in the printmaking program, and in April, she joined students and alumni in representing CIA at the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Fine Print Fair.

Outside of the college, her work was in The Groundhog Show in June in Akron. Prior to that, in April, she had a solo exhibition, Buck Soft, at Waterloo Arts in Cleveland.

“Buck Soft was part of my Buck Wilde series, centering on a performance persona I’ve been working with since graduate school in Tennessee. Buck Wilde is a mythic character, a rodeo clown who is ironically afraid of horses,” she says. “I debated how to introduce this character to a new environment/audience, but in the end, I was thrilled with how everything came together!”

Northeast Ohioans’ can next see Brester-Pennings’ work in CIA’s 2026 Faculty Exhibition, on view from September 3 through October 11 in Reinberger Gallery. She plans to include Big Buck, her favorite piece from Buck Soft.

“It incorporates relief printmaking, applique and hand-quilted elements. It’s a reflection of freedom, myth and crazed delight,” she says. “It’s also a nod to the Unicorn Rests in a Garden tapestry, so I hope visitors pick up those reference elements.”

Brester-Pennings, in her third year at CIA, is excited to see her colleagues’ Faculty Exhibition submissions.

“Visitors should look forward to a reflection of this creative ecosystem that flourishes here in Cleveland,” she says. “Not only am I blown away by the caliber of work our students make, but our faculty are constantly creating! When they’re not teaching, they are nurturing their studio practice—and it is evident in the work.”

Nikki Woods, CIA’s director of Exhibitions + Galleries, says the Faculty Exhibition offers a glimpse into the professional practices of the college’s esteemed faculty.

“I think it’s imperative for communities to support creative people—humans who make things—especially those who have dedicated their lives to education and the cultivation of others,” Woods says. “I think what is often overlooked are the many artists and creative people who make up a college like CIA, and the impact that those artists have had. CIA is a creative incubator, and I see this exhibition as a reflection of those critical and boundary-pushing ideas made manifest through the communities that have flourished here for the past 144 years.”

CLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF ART
11610 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44106
cia.edu
800.223.4700

EVENTS:

2026 Faculty Exhibition, September 3–October 11

2026 Studio Operations Exhibition, September 3

Regional Artist Mobility Exhibition, November 13