The Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) will feature 16 artists showcasing their work on the grounds of the Museum during ArtPrize which runs Sept. 21 through Oct. 9.
The GRPM will once again host an outdoor exhibition in which the artwork will visually lend itself to the setting of the Museum grounds. One artist’s work will be inside, but visible from the outside of the facility. Each year the GRPM curates a rewarding experience with approachable art that is intriguing, distinctive and engages the viewer’s capacity for awe and curiosity. Located in the heart of downtown Grand Rapids along the busy river walkway, the GRPM is able to offer a not-to-be-missed immersive, 24-hour experience.
During ArtPrize Eight the GRPM will be open with regular Museum hours and half off general admission fees ($4/adults, $1.50/children). In addition to the outdoor art installation, the Museum will offer a limited time exhibit, “Inspired Style,” created in partnership with students of Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University (KCAD) Pamella Rolland DeVos School of Fashion. Nine students were given the opportunity to chose a garment from the Museum’s Collections and create their own original work using it as inspiration. The student’s work is showcased next to the original in this exhibit.
The GRPM will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays through Saturdays, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesdays and from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays of ArtPrize. For more information about artists, exhibitions, special programming and tickets visit grpm.org.
ArtPrize Educational Programming:
The Museum once again will host a special Chair Camp offered by ArtPrize for more than 1,500 school-aged children. In this hands-on activity, Carla Hartman (granddaughter of Charles and Ray Eames) leads children in creating miniature chairs that are displayed around the Museum. Chair Camp will take place Sept 28, 29 and 30.
On Saturday, Oct. 1, the Museum will host a Chair Camp family day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. open to the public.
The GRPM will also be offering ArtPrize Education Days from Sept. 22 until Oct. 4 from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for early childhood development and K-12th grade students. These programs will include a walking tour of outside exhibits and hands-on presentation by ArtPrize artist Ann Gildner.
During ArtPrize Eight, the GRPM will host a Sensory Friendly Museum Night dedicated to families who are affected by autism and other sensory-processing challenges on Tuesday, Oct. 4, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Visitors will receive free general admission to enjoy a sensory friendly museum environment, special ArtPrize-themed activities and a free planetarium show. The Museum will adapt sounds, lighting and activities within the current exhibits to create a low-sensory experience for all. The Chaffee Planetarium will adapt lighting and sounds for an enjoyable, low sensory show.
The Artists:
Hailey Lamb – #betweenourhomes
#betweenourhomes is a visual exploration of text messaging as a platform for sharing comfort and encouragement. Messages are sourced from the artist’s original, unscripted text messages and made into vinyl stickers in their likeness. This piece will be the main installation with a number of smaller pieces throughout the Grand Rapids area.
Tamara Draper – Homage To The Spillman Carousel
The artist publicly expresses honor to this unique piece of history. It brings back memories of a more innocent and calm time in life, where kids weren’t trying to grow up so fast. This piece of art started when the artist came across an antique headboard that resembled a carousel, inspiring her to create a stained glass mosaic based on the Museum’s 1928 Spillman Carousel.
Paul Nilsson – MILAGROS
MILAGROS is a stoneware clay high fire sculpture that is about the healing process within us. Its symbolically refers to the powers of faith, touch and persistence.
Mark Chatterley – Birdzels
The Birdzels are made from high fired clay, crater glaze and reach up to seven feet tall. ArtPrize visitors will see 15-20 of them in a grouping.
Joshua Welker – Astrobleme
These sculptures are a lineage of objects that were produced over the course of several years. These works grow from a protocol of construction with specific dimensional restraints. Each sculpture enacts new combinations of form and color to be perceived by the viewer. The intense thinness of the objects act as optical disparity which counteracts both the color and form of the faces of the sculptures.
Patrick Schmidt – How I Make a Mark: Responding to a Carousel
By manipulating the planes of time and space, this installation symbolizes the fragmentation of identity in a digitized age. The artist analyzes image patterns from a variety of sources by reducing them via technology to simple line drawings. Overlaying select outlines to create visually complex networks that represent the multiple cultural, social and personal identities integrated into ourselves on a moment-by-moment basis.
Jason Graham – METROPOLES
This sculpture is part of the Walker series of work that depicts the remains of a group of anthropocentric beings from this display of a failed beings legacy. The artist is using his art to create conversation around an attempt to learn how to better survive our own technological and cultural developments.
Valerie Jean Schafer – Three Muses
This bronze sculpture grouping Three Muses: Memory, Song and Contemplation represent the three original muses of Greek mythology and the preconditions for poetic or any art form.
Jeffrey Breslow – Bolder & Boulder
Extraordinary boulders and stones shapes inspire the steel structures of this work, kindling a conversation between human creativity and the natural world. Time and natural elements tame and color the steel with beautiful and unpredictable patinas —a sustained interaction that imparts a sense of life to the materials. The piece is intended to inspire smiles and invite thoughts on the boundaries of art and the relationship between surface and density.
Jason Quigno – Infinity Cube
Infinity Cube is an 11,000-pound piece of black granite with a spiral carved on each surface to connect the inside and outside of the cube.
Ann Gildner – Urn – E
Urn – E is a classic example of necessity becoming virtue. Urn – E is the example what can happen when a necessary craft is applied to a classical design, inspired by “self-made” entrepreneurs who worked with their hands, mind and heart with a simple love for working and creating.
Herb Williams – Color Collaborative
In this piece thousands of crayons are stacked together in the negative spaces of branches and boughs without the use of glue or adhesives.
Bird Clarkson – THE Wizard of OZomeness
The Pursuit of Ahhwesomeness presents an impactful street dance perspective on the Wizard of Oz. The artist will perform live an outdoor Emerald City adventure for all to gather around and share the love of dance. The Pursuit of Ahhwesomeness is about the journey of interacting with others to accomplish or pursue something grand.
Harminder Boparai – My Nephew
This installation is based on the artist’s nephew, always on his cell phone so much that he can’t focus on anything else. Represented by an animal, because like animals he isn’t aware of what’s going on around him and he is focused in on his phone. Through this installation, the artist is depicting some of the negative effects of social media causing a disruption in to our lives every day.
William Walther – Towards a Newer Buddha
Buddha sits floating in satori. One of Buddhism’s central tenets is emptiness; an idea is embodied in this piece.
STRUXTURS – That’ll Cut It
A structure that creates an illusion of “shear” power, stainless steel is constructed into the largest pair of scissors imaginable. An everyday object that creates a significant degree of aesthetic interest at such a large scale. It captures the eye from any angle.
The Grand Rapids Public Museum is located 272 Pearl Street, NW. For additional information including hours of operation, admission fees and exhibit/event listings, please visit www.grpm.org.
