/ De Pree Art Gallery

Daydream Nation

A large, free-standing, three-dimensional grid constructed of wood beams and metal brackets at each intersection, with two carved wooden leaves mounted on the wall behind it. The artwork is viewed through a flat, upright grid structure.

August 25–September 26, 2025
Robert aiosa
2025 borgeson artist in residence exhibition

Daydream Nation is an exhibition in response to concepts of utopia. Throughout modern history, philosophers, artists and reformers have been interested in creating a near-perfect environment. Inspired by urban planning movements such as City Monumental, depictions from early renaissance paintings and sacred geometry symbolizing the ideal city, Daydream Nation is a poetic portrayal of ideas related to dreaming up a perfect habitat.

artist bio

Since moving to Florida, Aiosa has found that natural forms and the landscape are intrinsic to his constructions. Working through site-specific installation and sculpture, and employing construction-grade materials and processes with highly detailed carving techniques, Aiosa investigates the built environment and its social, economic and environmental impacts. He is interested in the history of our spaces and revealing the unknown story once we begin to toil in the ground and artifacts start to come to the surface. He contrasts the geometry of large grids, long associated with Minimalism, with intricately carved bones and foliage.

Aiosa earned his MFA from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2015, and his work has been exhibited throughout the United States, including in the 2019 Florida Prize exhibition at the Orlando Museum of Art. In 2022, Aiosa joined the school of visual arts and design at the University of Central Florida as an assistant professor of sculpture.

About the borgeson Artist in residence program

The Borgeson Artist in Residence program was inaugurated in 2016 through the generosity and enthusiasm of Hope alumni Clarke ’72 and Nancy Rayner ’72 Borgeson. The residency supports the creation of new work through provision of a stipend, studio, and living space on Hope’s campus. In addition to the time and space the residency offers, the resident artist is partnered with a student assistant for the duration of their residency to aid in the production of their work. The artist further engages with the department’s students through studio conversations and critiques, culminating in a month-long solo exhibition and public lecture at the college’s De Pree Art Gallery.

  • Vinyl text on a gallery wall displaying exhibition title, statement and artist's biography. There are two sculptural mushrooms on the wall nearby.
  • Two sculptures of shelf fungi painted in natural red, grey, and green tones, and mounted to the wall
  • A gallery space with a large-scale, free-standing, three dimensional grid constructed with wooden beams and metal brackets at each intersection. On the wall behind it, there are two carved wooden leaves.
  • a maple leaf carved out of wood and painted with shades of red and yellow a maple leaf carved out of wood and painted with shades of red and yellow 
  • a birch leaf carved out of wood and painted with shades of green and yellow 
  • wooden beams with metal joints constructed to form a 3-dimensional grid 
  • Gallery space featuring a large-scale, free-standing, three dimensional grid constructed with wooden beams and metal brackets at each intersection, next to a floor-to-ceiling flat grid made of dark wood beams, with three identical arches arranged at the top of the grid
  • A gallery space with a large-scale, free-standing, three dimensional grid constructed with wooden beams and metal brackets at each intersection. On the wall behind it, there is a sculptural mushroom, two upside down wooden arches holding a small branch, and a carved wooden leaf.
  • A sculpture of shelf mushroom painted in natural red, grey, and green tones, and mounted to the wall
  • Two upside down wooden arches holding up a small branch.
  • an oak leaf carved out wood and painted yellow and green
  • Three wooden sculptures arranged on the ground. The first one is several small, identical arches forming a circle. The second one is a dome-like structure made of three intersecting arches. The last one is a flat grid made of thin strips of wood.
  • close up of several small wooden arches arranged in a circle on the floor
  • a flat grid made of thin strips of wood
  • two dome-like structures each made of two intersecting arches
  • a cube constructed of wooden beams with metal brackets at each corner
  • a small grey geometric sculpture displayed on a pedestal
  • close up of a small grey geometric sculpture
Hope CollegeDe Pree Art Gallery

De Pree Art Center275 Columbia AvenueHolland, MI 49423

workP. 616.395.7500