Events
Unpacking the Exhibition Conversation Series: Art & Materials (virtual)
Date and Time
Wednesday, November 3, 2021 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
RSVP
This event is free to attend.
The RSVP deadline has passed for this event.
Location
Via Zoom
Description
Unpacking the Exhibition Conversations are a lunch-time series of virtual discussions featuring professionals from a variety of backgrounds unpacking big ideas from in our Fall 2021 exhibition currently on view in the GVSU Art Gallery (PAC) titled Honest & Unrefined: Art Outside the Academy .
This Conversation is about art and materials. Join artists Tom Duimstra, Zachary Trebellas, and Renee Zettle-Sterling for a deep dive discussion about unconventional materials, their power and meanings, and their use by outsider artists and mainstream artists alike. We'll put the exhibition artwork into context and examine different types of materials in order to broaden our understanding of 'outsider art'.
Tom Duimstra is an internationally recognized artist who has been showing his work since the mid 1970’s. One of his earliest shows was at Race Street Gallery, which later became the Urban Institute for Contemporary Art, in Grand Rapids, MI. “The use of ubiquitous materials and discarded objects is important to my artistic process, which involves manipulating and re-representing objects in new contexts. I am interested in investigating the ways in which aesthetic value is created and assigned, by both the artist and the viewer.“ - Tom Duimstra
Zachary Trebellas is a conceptual artist who takes inspiration from the culture and history around him. He is inspired by older forms of creativity like folk art or depression-era public art, both of which insert art into people's everyday lives and reflect the culture in which it is made. Originally from Chicagoland, he studied Art History and Visual Art Management at Columbia College Chicago, graduating magna cum laude in 2010. Since graduating, he followed this passion by working and volunteering for non-profit art organizations in Chicago, namely Marwen and Sixty Inches From Center. Following this, he spent two years organizing community art projects in rural Japan during his time as an English teacher with the JET Program. He came to Grand Rapids in 2015 ready to dive into its art community and has since then he has organized art exhibitions and projects with the Collective Artspace, Avenue for the Arts, UICA, Art Prize, and the Burton Heights neighborhood.
Renee Zettle-Sterling received her MFA in Sculpture/Installation and a MA in Jewelry Metalsmithing from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and BFA in Papermaking/Fibers from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Zettle-Sterling teaches Three-Dimensional Design, Jewelry/Metalsmithing, and Sculpture. Her studio practice and research explores the influence of everyday objects in transitioning through the difficult process of grief/mourning and examines how mourning and commemoration is contained within objects and our constructed systems. She has shown her work widely, both nationally and internationally. Additionally, her work has been published in many of the 500 Series published by Lark Books, Metalsmith Magazine, and American Craft magazines. Zettle-Sterling also served as President of the Society of North American Goldsmiths from 2012-2016. She co-authored, with fellow artist Jen Townsend, an award-winning book titled CAST: Art and Objects Made Using Humanities Most Transformational Processproduced by Schiffer Publishing.
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Contact
Art Gallery exhibitions, programs, and virtual programs are free and open to anyone. For additional program offerings or for more information on these events please visit gvsu.edu/artgallery. If you have questions, need assistance or accommodations, or to schedule a group visit, please call us at 616.331.2563 or email UX/Learning Manager, Amanda Rainey; [email protected].