Gallery Talk

Guests engage directly with works of art and listen to art-related topics through talks led by curators, educators, and invited specialists. Talks often include specific aspects of the exhibition on view in the gallery.

Saturday, September 28, 2 pm | Off-Center: Art That Pushes Boundaries

For this gallery talk, exhibition juror Rehema C. Barber will discuss the contemporary art and the work selected for the Off-Center: Art That Pushes Boundaries exhibition and more. Off-Center encourages artists to push the boundaries of art imagery, presenting works that inspire thought, provoke emotion, and induce awe. From the bizarre and emotive to the fantastic and inspirational, this exhibition strives to surprise and thrill visitors with contemporary artworks in a variety of media created by artists around the country. 

  • Presenter: Rehema C. Barber, Director of Curatorial Affairs, Kalamazoo Institute of Arts
Saturday, October 19, 1 pm | The Mysterious & The Macabre in Art History 

For this gallery talk, exhibition juror Shannon Karol will discuss the supernatural and mysterious in art history and the artworks included in the Rest in Pieces: The Mysterious & The Macabre exhibition on view in the gallery. Rest in Pieces seeks to create a genuinely eerie atmosphere, presenting 2D and 3D works of art that reveal the mysterious, macabre, and magical. Artists are invited to explore supernatural themes, such as apparitions, haunted sites, and even death, through a wide range of styles, from gothic to surreal. The subject matter for this exhibition, and throughout art history, can be disturbing and scary as well as beautiful and thought-provoking.

  • Presenter: Shannon Karol, Executive Director 
Saturday, November 23, 1 pm | The Benefits of Slow Looking in the Gallery

At this gallery talk, guests are encouraged to view the Small Works all-media exhibition in the gallery which typically features over 150 works. With so many works on view, the experience may be overwhelming. Slow looking is an approach based on the idea that, if we really want to get to know a work of art, we need to spend time with it. It’s about you and the artwork, allowing yourself time to make your own discoveries and form a more personal connection with it. As Vincent Van Gogh said, “It is looking at things for a long time that ripens you and gives you a deeper meaning.”

  • Presenter: Shannon Karol, Executive Director 

Past Gallery Talks

May 18:  En Plein Air: Impressionism’s Outdoor Revolution

Guests joined Executive Director, Shannon Karol for a celebration of en plein air (outdoor) painters. Presented alongside plein-air and other nature-inspired artwork in the As We See It exhibition, this gallery talk provided an overview of artists from the Barbizon School to the Hudson River School to the Impressionists. Guest also enjoyed a demonstration by plein-air and exhibiting artist Janet Kohler.

 

January 27: Breaking the Canvas Ceiling: Celebrating Women in Art

Guests joined Executive Director, Shannon Karol for a celebration of women artists throughout art history. Presented alongside artwork by the Birmingham Society of Women Painters, this gallery talk provided an overview of ten women artists who broke boundaries in the art world. Guests heard the stories of Mary Cassatt, Helen Frankenthaler, Artemisia Gentileschi, Frida Kahlo, Lee Krasner, and others.