Did you know the current exhibition, “Margin to Mainstream,” features a dozen works of art not from the GVSU Art Museum’s collection? These works are on loan from local institutions, including the Grand Rapids Art Museum, Calvin University, and the Muskegon Museum of Art. It also showcases artwork from private collectors not often seen by the public.

Museums commonly loan works for exhibition. It is rare for a single museum’s collection to contain all the works of art needed to adequately tell the story of an exhibition. Museums may supplement their collections with additional exhibition text to fill in the gaps, use reproduction images, or even include digital images. However, borrowing artwork from private and public collections can also help complete an exhibition’s narrative.

In “Margin to Mainstream,” the loaned artworks complement the works selected from the GVSU permanent art collection and fill gaps in the story being told. The loaned artworks bring in perspectives from artists who may have different backgrounds, come from different time periods, or use different media to tell similar stories. For example, Alynn Guerra is a local artist and printmaker who addresses climate change. Her print in the exhibition, “Sprawl,” encourages viewers to consider the larger issues of urban sprawl and the decay of surrounding natural areas. Next to Guerra’s print is a photograph of fallen and decomposing fruit by Tanya Marcuse, loaned from Calvin University. Marcuse’s large-scale photograph, “Fallen 439,” also asks viewers to consider how death and decay are already part of nature. Using different media, both artists demonstrate how female artists are activists for the climate.

Including loans from other collections can also allow visitors to experience art and artists who are not otherwise part of the GVSU Art Museum’s collection. Museums are unable to always display every piece in their collection, so lending artworks to other institutions means that pieces that are not usually on display can be viewed and appreciated by new audiences. Although lending artwork temporarily means living with a blank space on the wall, loans from private collections can also bring artwork into public institutions, allowing a much larger audience to see and appreciate it.

“Margin to Mainstream” invites viewers to reconsider how artistic value is defined and to recognize the essential role women artists continue to play in shaping our artistic culture and future. The following works of art are a sampling of artwork loaned to the GVSU Art Museum for the duration of the exhibition.

Explore more about “Margin to Mainstream.”

Louise Bourgeois was a French-American artist best known for her large-scale sculpture and installation art, but was also a prolific painter and printmaker. Known for her feminist artwork, many of the themes in her art connect to events from her childhood. Other themes also include domesticity, family, and sexuality. This work of art was borrowed from a private collection.

Rose Freymuth-Frazier is a first-generation American artist born and raised in California. Her artwork draws from a deep connection to the women who came before her, especially her German Jewish refugee family. Her paintings are often large in scale and highly detailed. While many of her images are of women, she also often incorporates animals and other objects, creating complex symbols that address themes like gender roles, body image, consumerism, and domestication.

Aneka Ingold’s ambiguous narrative paintings combine flat colors and patterns with realism. Ingold is a Grand Valley State University alum and is featured in the GVSU Art Museum’s permanent collection. By borrowing this artwork from the Muskegon Museum of Art, the exhibition was able to feature a broader range of her work.

Andrea Kowch is an American painter from Detroit, Michigan, known for her imaginative realism paintings. Her paintings often feature women and animals in desolate landscapes inspired by growing up in the Midwest.