By Matthew Makowski, Grand Valley State University
Virginia Jenkins is a professor and former chair of the Department of Visual and Media Arts at Grand Valley State University. Landscape forms and images have been the primary focus of her work for more than two decades, and her areas of specialty are in painting, drawing and mixed media. This exhibition is drawn from a recent series created in response to the landscape of the Northwest coast of the United States.
What: ‘Landscapes, Color & Light: Paintings by Virginia Jenkins’
When: Exhibition on display through March 2
Where: Red Wall Gallery, Lake Ontario Hall (first floor), Allendale Campus
A new exhibit titled, “Michigan Impressions,” by local artist Kathleen Kalinowski opens at the Leep Art Gallery Oct. 5. The exhibit is at the Postma Center on the Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services campus in Grand Rapids.
Kalinowski is known for her representational landscape paintings with impressionistic color and brushwork. Much of her work consists of plein air painting, directly from nature, a prelude to her larger studio paintings. She has been working as a professional fine artist for more than 25 years using oil and pastel as her mediums.
She paints the landscapes of her native Michigan in all seasons and favorite places from her travels. Her home and studio is just north of Grand Rapids, in a rural area close to farms, rolling hills, and plenty of rivers and streams. She often finds water as her inspiration including the shorelines of the Great Lakes, northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula.
“Painting is my passion, it is who I am,” said Kalinowski. “Whether working on location or in my studio, my experience has taught me to trust my intuition when seeking inspiration.
“I look to capture the sense of the place, the relationship of elements, and quality of light, atmosphere, and color harmonies to create a visual poetry that I seek to express in my work. My hope is that the viewer will be left with a feeling of being present within the artwork and gain another understanding of how beautiful our world can be.”
Kalinowski is a signature member of the Pastel Society of America, a member of the Oil Painters of America, American Women Artists, Great Lakes Pastel Society, Plein Air Artists of West Michigan and Grand Valley Artists. Her award winning work has been accepted into prestigious juried regional and national exhibitions and is in numerous private and corporate collections.
The exhibit will be on display at Pine Rest Postma Center located at 300 68th St. SE from Oct. 5 until Jan. 3. The Leep Art Gallery is open Monday through Friday 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. and is free and open to the public. For more information, please call 616/222-4530 or go to www.pinerest.org/events.
