A new exhibit opens Tuesday, October 26, in the Calder Gallery, that provides a look at urban Detroit through the eyes of four Detroit artists. The traveling exhibition has been supported by GVSU as well as the Wayne State University Department of Art and Art History and the WSU Humanities Center.
The Meaningful Object: A Visual Dialogue on Cultural Transformation, Urban Decay, and Renewal runs through December 2. The Calder Art Gallery is in the Performing Arts Center on GVSU's Allendale campus. Hours for the gallery are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday.
Often art can be understood by examining the time, place, and circumstances in which the artist worked, says Henry Matthews, Director of Galleries and Collections at GVSU, explaining the significance of the Meaningful Object exhibit. Likewise, art can provide a unique perspective on a community.
The Meaningful Object exhibit includes three- and four-dimensional art by four Detroit artists and faculty members at Wayne State University in Detroit. The artists include Tom Paul Fitzgerald, Robert Martin, Jiro J. Masuda, and John Richardson.
Their works reflect observations and experienced changes in the city, presented as a focal point for discussion, Matthews says. These changes, particularly evident in Detroit, have been caused by population shifts, increased technology, economic fluctuations and the hybridization associated with modernity.
Erika Wolf has contributed a critical essay to the exhibit, placing it in a broader historical context.
