Art MFA student, Hanna Brody, recently completed a painting for author T Kira Māhealani Madden that was featured in The New York Times. Her book, titled “Somebody Killed Her Assailant. Was Justice Served?” has a featured review written by Catherine Chidgey and original art by UNM MFA student Hanna Brody. Chidgey, in her review, writes, “T Kira Madden’s ‘Whidbey’ is a novel of aftermath, tracing how a self-recalibrates after unthinkable violence. The book opens with an audacious and instantly gripping start. Birdie Chang is on a ferry, fleeing to Whidbey, an island outside Seattle. The destination promises isolation, which is exactly what she’s looking for after a life plagued by fear and pain. On the boat ride, a stranger asks what inspired her journey, and Birdie confesses: She’s hiding.”
Hanna Brody works primarily in painting, yet in this piece, she expands her practice by using dye and oil on transparent fabric. Hanna’s work, I Hovered My Hand as If Feeling for Heat, depicts three women whose overlapping forms suggest both connection and a sense of spatial ambiguity as they interact with one another. The use of hands frames their faces, creating a dynamic sense of movement and providing an interesting tension between the work and the viewer. We are incredibly proud of Hanna’s work as well as thankful for her work within our department as both an MFA student and teaching assistant within our Painting & Drawing area.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
EXPLORE the work of Hanna Brody by following on Instagram @hbrods.
LEARN MORE at https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/books/review/whidbey-t-kira-madden.html
https://hannabrody.com/
