We have two great shows at UICA that you simply must see to fully understand their true importance.
Our region loves to chat about curation and the art of collecting, but rarely do we get it so right as we do with this brand-spanking-new exhibition curated by UICA's exiting curator Alexander Paschka, whose vision is also on display in a collection devoted to the art of buying art.
Buying Friends is so much more than a play on words. This look at a very contemporary art collection from Ryan Kortman will feature more than 80 works by nationally and internationally renowned artists, including Adam Scott, Brian Belott, and Sayre Gomez who will be seen together for the first time.
All told, there are 36 artists featured in this exhibition, which presents many of the common themes found within contemporary art today, with touches of humor, horror, and of course my favorite genre, pop culture, that are expressed via an equally diverse array of styles, from painting to sculpture to mixed media.
What is also on display is how a life in close proximity to an artist or group of artists can help one begin to amass a collection that is not just impressive but highly personal in the scope of works secured.
Also on display is the final show by Kirk Newman: Looking Forward.
Newman, who began in ceramics after returning home from World War II, began to see how the arts, culture, and the people around him could frame a dialog about what was happening in our culture through sculpture, drawing, and printmaking.
Newman went on to create the Kirk Newman School at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, and his work remains especially relevant to those who see echoes of the 1960s ethos in his critiques on the business world of today. It is not uncommon to see jaws drop when they see the year these works were created in light of the topics he was addressing then. And as they say, the more things change…
In this case, the change that appears to be certain is that on February 8, 2015, the final Kirk Newman show will come down (and that's all, folks).
Don't miss these two great shows.
Admission: Free
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