Memorial service to celebrate late artist Cyril Lixenberg

The life and works of artist and longtime Grand Valley State University supporter Cyril Lixenberg during a memorial service Sunday, May 3.

The service will be held from 3-5 p.m. in the Charles W. Loosemoore Forum room located in the L. William Seidman Center on the Pew Grand Rapids Campus.

Lixenberg died January 11 at age 82 in his Amsterdam home with his daughter, Dana, and son, Onno, by his side after suffering from prostate cancer.

Henry Matthews, director of galleries and collections at Grand Valley, said Lixenberg has been part of Grand Valley since 1998 when he offered his first donation of personal works. Since then, Lixenberg has contributed examples of his work right up to his final donation in 2014. Currently, Grand Valley’s Lixenberg collection includes more than 550 works of art. In 2013, Lixenberg received an honorary doctorate from Grand Valley.

“[Cyril] loved that GVSU would hold the largest selection of his work anywhere,” Matthews said. “He was very proud to have this collection at GVSU serve as a valuable teaching resource to students and scholars. His legacy at GVSU will remain with us for a very long time. The large-scale metal sculptures in Allendale, Grand Rapids, Holland and Muskegon will serve as a reminder of his energy and talents.”

Aside from his numerous professional accomplishments, Matthews added that Lixenberg was most importantly a kind, gentle and “humorous Mensch, a Yiddish word for human being.”

“Cyril’s strongest traits included caring for others. Generous to a fault, he believed in the goodness of humanity,” Matthew said. “People talk about his easy smile, gleaming and gentle eyes.”
 
Both the Grand Valley and West Michigan communities are invited to attend this memorial. Parking will be available in Grand Valley’s Mount Vernon lot. For more information, contact Grand Valley’s Art Gallery at (616) 331-2563.

For more about Lixenberg and his art, visit www.cyrillixenberg.com.