Hubert Massey, a GVSU alumnus and the artist responsible for the large fresco in the DeVos Center, has just completed his most recent large-scale painting to much fanfare on the eastern side of the state.
The Detroit Athletic Club unveiled Massey's newest fresco, titled Cityscape, DAC, in an official ceremony on January 18. Keynote speaker for the event was Detroit Institute of Arts Director Graham Beal.
Cityscape, DAC is made up of two 7x16-foot panels: the left scene portrays a view of the Detroit River and features landmark buildings; the right-hand panel looks north from the river and features a variety of people. Massey was commissioned last summer to create the frescoes, and has since worked on them steadily to make the cartoon tracings, lay down multiple layers of plaster, and then paint on wet plaster with hand-ground pigments. The intricate technique was used by Michelangelo for the Sistine Chapel and by Diego Rivera in the 1930s for the Detroit Industry murals at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Massey is one of only a handful of fresco artists working in the United States.
Massey, a Flint native, graduated in 1983 with a bachelor's degree in fine art, but was known more for his athletic ability. As a student, he set a school record in the discus throw, was a candidate for All-America in football, and was named GVSU's athlete of the year. Nonetheless, he set his sights on art, and on the recommendation of a professor, spent a semester at the Slade Institute of Fine Arts at the University of London, England.
Highlights of his career since then include a 625-square-foot mural in the lobby of the Atheneum Hotel in Detroit, a nine-ton granite petrography carving for the IRS Building, and Geneology, the terrazzo floor design in the Charles Wright Museum of African American History. In 1993 he was honored with the Spirit of Detroit Award.
In 2000, Massey created his first major fresco ¿ for the DeVos Center. The 7x5-foot Exporting and Importing of Knowledge weighs 500 pounds.
The 100 or so guests at the DAC unveiling were, without exception, thrilled with Cityscape, said GVSU representatives at the event. In his remarks, Massey, 42, referred several times to the importance of Grand Valley in his life.
