Detail of artwork by collaborators Lisa Walcott and Meridith Ridl
Forest Church by Mary Ann Southworth
November 17 - January 13
Opening Reception: November 17, 6-8pm
Artworks by Christy DeHoog Johnson, Jessica Bohus and collaborators Lisa Walcott and Meridith Ridl
Four dynamic Michigan female artists come together to create an exhibition exploring the idea of micro and macro images in drawing, painting and sculpture especially employing the use of line as expression. The result is a strong, playful exhibition.
Opening Reception: November 17, 6-8pm
Artworks by Christy DeHoog Johnson, Jessica Bohus and collaborators Lisa Walcott and Meridith Ridl
Four dynamic Michigan female artists come together to create an exhibition exploring the idea of micro and macro images in drawing, painting and sculpture especially employing the use of line as expression. The result is a strong, playful exhibition.
Out of Line
November 17, 2017 - January 13, 2018
Armstrong Gallery
Opening Reception: November 17, 6-8pm
Bounding down the lane flanked by cool grass, a blue sky above and a safe home in the distance, the wolf comes to a threshold. The bird and rabbit seem to know what the wolf does not; that to pass through the threshold means to enter another world.
Lured by the joyous eruption of color and shape we willingly cross the threshold of Mary Ann Southworth’s paintings into a magical land that seems so familiar and so forgotten all at the same time. And, just as in all great stories, we embark on a journey of discovery, uncovering rich currents of life, love, loss, and the deep evocative material of myth and human memory.
In Mary Ann’s work we encounter animal guides, ancestors, magic flora and fauna that reveal for example, the preciousness of simple stones collected as objects of delight and wonder, and their transformation through the hands of loved ones into emblems of warmth, connection, a selection of one out of many, a gift given and received.
Mary Ann, a Michigan artist who has exhibited nationally, from Sante Fe to Chicago, from Grand Rapids to Kansas City, was born and raised on a cash crop farm in rural mid-Michigan. She enjoyed farm life, and loved to be outside riding her horse, doing chores or working in the fields. Winter days were often spent in the farm shop with her father, a gifted builder, who taught Mary Ann how to weld and work with wood. He would often take a piece of chalk and draw out plans on the cement floor. This is where Mary Ann’s love for making things began, and it is this life rooted in the earth, steeped in reading the fields, and living in kinship with the land and all the beings that inhabit it, that gives her magical soaring vision its gravitas.
Join us for the opening of Mary Ann's exhibition on November 17 from 6 to 8pm. The exhibition and opening are free and open to the public.
Written by Robert Koval
Armstrong Gallery
Opening Reception: November 17, 6-8pm
Bounding down the lane flanked by cool grass, a blue sky above and a safe home in the distance, the wolf comes to a threshold. The bird and rabbit seem to know what the wolf does not; that to pass through the threshold means to enter another world.
Lured by the joyous eruption of color and shape we willingly cross the threshold of Mary Ann Southworth’s paintings into a magical land that seems so familiar and so forgotten all at the same time. And, just as in all great stories, we embark on a journey of discovery, uncovering rich currents of life, love, loss, and the deep evocative material of myth and human memory.
In Mary Ann’s work we encounter animal guides, ancestors, magic flora and fauna that reveal for example, the preciousness of simple stones collected as objects of delight and wonder, and their transformation through the hands of loved ones into emblems of warmth, connection, a selection of one out of many, a gift given and received.
Mary Ann, a Michigan artist who has exhibited nationally, from Sante Fe to Chicago, from Grand Rapids to Kansas City, was born and raised on a cash crop farm in rural mid-Michigan. She enjoyed farm life, and loved to be outside riding her horse, doing chores or working in the fields. Winter days were often spent in the farm shop with her father, a gifted builder, who taught Mary Ann how to weld and work with wood. He would often take a piece of chalk and draw out plans on the cement floor. This is where Mary Ann’s love for making things began, and it is this life rooted in the earth, steeped in reading the fields, and living in kinship with the land and all the beings that inhabit it, that gives her magical soaring vision its gravitas.
Join us for the opening of Mary Ann's exhibition on November 17 from 6 to 8pm. The exhibition and opening are free and open to the public.
Written by Robert Koval
The Way Home
Michigan Spaces/Michigan Places: Recent Paintings by Keith Downie & Tom Tomasek
Photo by Mike Lozon
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May 25 – August 12, 2017
Padnos Gallery Keith Downie and Tom Tomasek bring their work together in an exhibition that documents and celebrates the typical, the unnoticed and the nondescript spaces and places of Michigan. Keith Downie paints Michigan’s places, always including a typical, nondescript Michigan house. He calls them Real Estate Paintings. The houses he paints are ubiquitous in western Michigan. They are so numerous that we don’t examine them individually; we don’t discriminate between them. Why would would we? Downie says they are “not extraordinary, but very much at the center of the slow motion drama that is the economic and political landscape of Michigan.” That is why he paints them. Tom Tomasek takes a similar approach to Michigan’s spaces. While growing up in rural Michigan, he was instilled with an appreciation for the land that surrounded him. While traditional landscape paintings have documented many glorious places, he feels that all the views are equally important. The work assembled in this exhibit pays homage to the “less than spectacular” places that are often an overlooked part of daily life. |
A Sense of Place: Imagined Landscapes by Katherine Bourdon
Photo by Mike Lozon
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July 6 – August 12, 2017
Armstrong Gallery In Katherine Bourdon’s body of work, subconscious memories of many nonspecific locations (“sense of place”) are compiled, disassembled, and reconstructed to formulate new, imaginary locations (“imagined landscapes”). While the images are inspired by actual places, the process of painting results in a novel and independent landscape. Bourdon’s artwork is rooted in her experiences as a musician. Within each painting she works subconsciously in terms of sound quality: repetition of a visual element becomes rhythm; line and color transform into melody and harmony. In these works, the landscape becomes transformed in the process of creation and improvisation. She prefers to improvise rather than plan the painting, and she presents shapes found in natural and urban environments as abstract forms. The subject matter is examined and interpreted; she is not interested in direct representation. Absorb her work in the Armstrong Gallery at the Holland Area Arts Council. The exhibit and July 9 opening are free and open to the public. |
Contemporary Native Voices
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January 19 - March 3, 2017
Padnos Gallery An exhibition highlighting the works of Native Great Lakes artists whose works reflect thier cultural heritage but have reached beyond the boundries of tradition. Featured Artists: Cherish Parrish, Kelly Church, Courtney Bigs, Shirley Brauker, Brocher, Jane Ewing, Fairchild and Jason Quigno. Works from the collections of Grand Valley State University, Michigan State University will also be exhibited. |
MI Arts: All Mighigan All Media Visual Arts Competition
Chihooligan - Venezia by Patricia Flynn
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September 9 - November 4, 2016
Barbara Padnos and Amanda Jane Armstrong Galleries The Holland Area Arts Council presents the sixth annual MI Arts: All Michigan All Media Visual Arts Competition this fall. Over 50 artists from across the state submitted over 100 pieces in mediums spanning two dimensional and three dimensional art. The Arts Council selected Tom Duimstra and Michael Peoples as the jurors. Tom Duimstra manipulates and re-presents ubiquitous materials and discarded objects in new contexts. He strives to create a balance of looking and responding intended to draw viewers into further contemplation. Michael Peoples is a multidisciplinary artist toying with repetition, the transformation of material and the significance of numbers, color and subject in order to create an emotional experience. Both Tom and Michael currently reside in West Michigan and were recently featured in a uniquely cohesive exhibit, Split, at the Holland Area Arts Council. Fifty-one pieces were selected, including acrylic, oil and watercolor paintings, wood and ceramics sculptures, photographs, pastel drawings, prints and textiles. MI Arts, an exhibition showcasing many of the best in Michigan, will open with an award ceremony on Friday, September 9th at 6 p.m. The opening is free and open to the public and is a great opportunity for community members to meet regional artists! Three thousand dollars in awards will be given to first, second and third place, honorable mentions and memorial awards. Special thanks to exhibition intern, Kelsey Blood, gallery assistants, Dean and Wendy Achterhof and all of the volunteers and sponsors that make this exhibition possible. |
Great Lakes Pastel Society 2016 National Exhibition
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May 19 – July 16, 2016
Padnos Gallery In early May, 1997, five pastel artists met in Grand Rapids with the idea of creating an organization to promote the pastel medium. After becoming a nonprofit and a member of the International Association of Pastel Societies (IAPS), they hosted their first exhibit at the Grand Valley Artists gallery in November of 1997. Each member brought a painting to the show and Master Pastelist Larry Blovits critiqued each painting. From this start in 1997, the Great Lakes Pastel Society has grown to over 200 members in 12 states and host annual exhibitions around the region. This year, the Holland Area Arts Council is happy to host the exhibition in their Padnos Gallery. Artists from across the United States, members and nonmembers, submitted artwork. Sixty-four pieces were selected for the exhibition by juror, Lisa Ober, and thirteen pieces will be awarded additional honors. Join us for the opening reception on Friday, May 20 from 6 to 8 pm to celebrate their beautiful work and accomplishments. For more information on the Great Lakes Pastel society, visit them online at greatlakespastelsociety.org. |
Art for All Exhibition
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September 19 - November 12, 2016
Lievense Gallery Art for All, a unique art program for adults with mental and/or physical disabilities, is a year-round class taught once a week for an hour and a half. The current supervising instructor is Sandie Coffman. Student attendance varies from 13 to 20 each week, and are exposed to various art media including printmaking, weaving, clay sculpture, painting, and wood construction, as well as dance and movement. The students show their hard work in this exhibit. Join us to celebrate their talent and creativity. |
Perspectivas: Photography by Luis Fonseca, Roli Mancera and Raul Alejandro Velasco
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Armstrong Gallery
September 10 – November 6, 2015 Opening Reception: Thursday, September 10 at 6:00 p.m. Three photographers come together in the Arts Council’s Armstrong Gallery to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month. Luis Fonseca, Roli Mancera and Raul Alejandro Velasco were all born in Mexico and have rich backgrounds in art. Currently they work in photography to celebrate the culture and history of Mexico, to hold a mirror up to the human condition, to call others to social action and, ultimately, to say what can’t be expressed with words alone. |
Liberty: "Off the Wall", the 2004 Young Latino Mural Project
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Lievense Gallery
October 28 - November 6, 2015 Artists in West Ottawa High School's IB and AP Studio Art classes are celebrating life and culture by creating calaveras based on the work of Jose Guadalupe Posada. Calaveras depicted skeletal figures in scenes of everyday life to remind us to appreciate the moment. Using traditional illustration & printmaking techniques these modern images take on a life of their own. What is a calavera? A calavera is a representation of a human skull used in the Mexican celebration of el Dia de los Muertos and the Roman Catholic All Souls' Day. It can be applied to any artistic representation, but is usually applied to decorative or edible skulls. Liberty was created for the Arts Council in 2004 for Hispanic Awareness month. Margaret Vega, Professor of painting at Kendall College of Art & Design, led 4 young men in this project to create a mural.
From Margaret Vega's Juror's Statement: "The mural conceptually embraces the enormous courage and strength needed to face the challenges which occur when people immigrate to a new country. The figure on the right shows the matador, blindfolded against the problems which lie beyond his borders. This figure taunts the central figure of liberty, much as the matador taunts the bull. But liberty remains benevolent, and stands her ground. The third figure, is also a matador. He takes the ballet-like stance of the classical matador, now able to see clearly, aware of the problems of his new land, but still fighting for his liberty. The background contains prayers to the Virgin Mary in Spanish and, in English, the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence. The color was applied to all the figures with a concern for the diversity within the Latino population. The figures appear quite fair skinned as they turn towards the light, and deepen in color as they move into the areas of shadow." |
MI Arts 2015: All Michigan All Media Visual Arts Competition
Tim Norris, A Still Volcano Life
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Padnos and Lievense Galleries
August 20 - October 23, 2015 The Holland Area Arts Council presents the fifth annual MI Arts: All Michigan All Media Visual Arts Competition this fall. Over 80 artists from across the state submitted nearly 200 pieces in mediums spanning two dimensional and three dimensional art. The Arts Council selected Lisa Walcott as the juror. Walcott is a Midwest based installation artist and kinetic sculptor whose work explores relationships to space and cycles of deterioration and growth, through various subtle gestural objects. Walcott received her MFA in Sculpture from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2010 and has continued to create and exhibit nationally. Her work explores mundane, extracted moments from familiar spaces ultimately giving lyricism to the unseen and visual articulation to the unsaid. Seventy-four pieces were selected, including acrylic, oil and watercolor paintings, wood and ceramics sculptures, photographs, pastel drawings, prints and textiles. The Arts Council provides a wide variety of opportunities to educate, engage and challenge the community through the arts. Exhibition is one way the Arts Council fulfills its mission, and one way they work for artists. Their galleries regularly display the best of regional, state and national artists allowing them to show and sell their work. MI Arts, an exhibition showcasing many of the best in Michigan, will open with an award ceremony on Friday, August 21 at 6 p.m. The opening is free and open to the public and is a great opportunity for community members to meet regional artists! Thousands of dollars in awards will be given to first, second and third place, honorable mentions and memorial awards. The exhibition will the run through October 23. The exhibition is sponsored by Holland Friends of Art. Special thanks to exhibition intern, Elizabeth Jaros, gallery assistants, Dean and Wendy Achterhof and all of the volunteers that make this exhibition possible. The winners were announced at the opening reception on Friday, August 21. Juror Lisa Walcott chose the top three winners as well as four honorable mentions.
1st Place Jaimie Watson Landscape/PA Turnpike I 2nd Place Patricia Opel Inagaddadavida 3rd Place Christy Dehoog Johnson Aloft Click here to see the complete list of award winners. Click here for more information on MI Arts and submission. Click here for 2014's MI Arts catalog. |
What a strange, and baffling, and utterly wonderful science it was… by seth.
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Illustrations by seth. Creatures of the Heart and Small TalesArmstrong Gallery
July 10 - August 21, 2015 Closing Reception: August 21, 6-8 p.m. (NEW DATE) Love, hope, kindness, bravery and friendship. These are the sweet sentiments that will surround you in our Armstrong Gallery from July 10 through August 20 in Illustrations by seth. In Small Tales and Creatures of the Heart, seth makes “conceptual cartoons” that read as children’s stories and poetry, lessons on life for children and adults. Each illustration is a reflection on meaningful revelations that are both “deeply profound and simply silly” at the same time. His Small Tales prints are created with mixed media collage. Each piece tells a unique, encouraging story with color, pattern, negative space and a short poem. Seth hand draws Creatures of the Heart with fine art permanent markers. The characters in these illustrations contemplate the heart – the search for love, mending broken hearts, spreading love, letting go of love and holding on to it for dear life. Seth lives and works in Thomas, West Virginia where he co-owns and operates the White Room Art Gallery. His deep appreciation for the work of Dr. Seuss, Shel Silverstein, Soul Steinberg, Ralph Steadman and Luigi Serafini and his focus on the conceptual properties of his work are apparent in his illustrations. Stop by for a smile! |
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Winter Weather Policy:
When Holland Public Schools close, the Arts Council is also closed.
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Photography by Mike Lozon.