George and Barbara Gordon began collecting work by Mathias J. Alten more than 50 years ago. An outdoor enthusiast who traveled throughout Michigan, George was particularly fond of Alten's landscapes. As the Gordon's collection grew, they sought an opportunity to share their love of Alten's work with others. A partnership with GVSU was formed, and the George and Barbara Gordon Gallery was constructed as part of the Richard M. DeVos Center in Fall 2000. Soon after, as the collection increased, additions to the space were made. This resulted in the now roughly 2,500 square foot gallery space, spanning two floors, that features the university's collection of Alten's work.
 

George and Barbara Gordon Gallery, Room 103E and 203E
Richard M. DeVos Center, Building E
401 Fulton St W E
Grand Rapids, MI 49504

Hours: Fridays and Saturdays 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. or by appointment with the GVSU Art Gallery

Closed days the University is closed, holidays and holiday weekends, and Spring Break.  

German-born American artist Mathias Joseph Alten (1871-1938) immigrated to the United States in 1889 at the age of seventeen. During this period, the country experienced swift economic and urban growth driven by industrialization and immigration. Alten’s family settled in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a premier furniture manufacturing center and a desirable location for immigrants in the late nineteenth century. Here, amidst a rapidly changing world, Alten went on to establish a family, home, and studio for the entirety of his career.

Like many American painters of the period, Alten was drawn to the major artistic and cultural centers of Europe and the United States. Beginning in 1898 and continuing over the next four decades, he traveled extensively to pursue artistic training, exhibit his work, and engage with fellow artists. Despite his attraction to distant locales and artistic communities, Alten chose to keep his professional home in the same city and state that welcomed his family during the late nineteenth century. As a result, his work was influenced by the landscapes and techniques he discovered abroad, but remained deeply connected to the rural Michigan landscape widely featured in his paintings.

Over his career, Alten created more than 3,000 works of art, initially influenced by the French Barbizon and Dutch Hague Schools and later by the Impressionism movement. His work embraced a fluid style consistent with an Impressionist-inspired brush, and despite the many changes he encountered, his fascination with quiet places and the old way of doing things prevailed. He repeatedly sought out and celebrated traditional laborers and nostalgic settings even as modernization transformed life in the early twentieth century.

The landscape of Michigan is unique and varied, sculpted by glaciers thousands of years ago and altered by humans over centuries through various agricultural, urban, and industrial practices. The state is divided into two large peninsulas totaling nearly 60,000 square miles, bordered by four Great Lakes, giving it the longest freshwater coastline in the United States. These two landforms are marked by rolling hills, mountains, fields, forests, dunes, urban centers, and numerous lakes, rivers, and marshes. This incredible amount of land and water, cast across a geologically diverse area, has continued to serve as fertile ground for artistic interpretation of the place many call home.

This exhibition, drawn from the collection at Grand Valley State University, features over 30 artists from the last 150 years. These artists have spent time directly engaging with the Michigan landscape and creating works that reflect their experience. Many have been drawn outside because of the dramatic seasonal changes that impact the color, density, and atmosphere of Michigan throughout the year. Others have sought to portray the intersection of the natural world and human development, focusing on urban centers and evidence of our impact that divides, shapes, and alters the landscape.

Some of the works are realistic depictions earnestly relaying what the artist sees. Certain pieces are imaginative creations with isolated and exaggerated colors, lines, and shapes that focus our attention on different qualities of the land or blur our perception. Viewed as a whole, these works inform and illuminate our understanding of artistic engagement with landscape. They remind us that the lure of Michigan’s landscape continues to captivate and inspire new generations of artists.

Artists: Nathan Abramowski, Mathis J. Alten, Stewart Ashlee, Rick Beerhorst, Stephen Duren, Jane Everhart, Carolyn Fehsenfeld, Amber Felicioni, Jim Fitzpatrick, Douglas R. Gilbert, Alynn Guerra, Ladislav R. Hanka, Dellas Henke, Geoffrey Holstad, Debra Reid Jenkins, Foster Jewell, James Karsina, Claudia S. Liberatore, David Lubbers, Michael Maitner, Cheri McClain-Beatty, Mike McDonnell, Armand J. Merizon, Rory Miller, Dylan Nelson, Jeanne Rockett, Jason D. Rutter, Arthur Serth, Tom Stade, Mariel Versluis, Reynold H. Weidenaar, Diane Zeeuw

Grand Valley State University holds the largest public collection of Alten’s work in the world. The George and Barbara Gordon Gallery, in conjunction with GVSU’s Special Collections of Alten Family Archives, serve as vital resources for the study of the Alten’s work.

• Read Mathias Alten at 150 from GV Magazine
• View Mathias Alten paintings in the GVSU art collection database
• Visit the Mathias Alten Catalog Raisonné (pictured at right, or below if using a mobile device)
• Purchase or check-out the 2017 printed publication "Mathias J. Alten: An Evolving Legacy"
• Mathias J. Alten Timeline (Now on view on the Richard M. Devos Center's 2nd Floor, outside the gallery)
• Download the Gordon Gallery Brochure (pdf): page 1 | page 2
• Download the Mathias Alten Poem (pdf): page 1 | page 2

Location:

Richard M. DeVos Center, Building E, Room 103 and 202
401 Fulton Street West, Robert C. Pew Grand Rapids Campus

Robert C. Pew Grand Rapids Campus Map

Gordon Gallery Hours:

Open Fridays and Saturdays 1:00-5:00p.m. except days the University is closed.  

Closed on holiday weekends:  
New Year's Day, Easter, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

Private tours and special open hours may be arranged by contacting the Art Gallery Department.