Northville Art House
Gallery Talk
Join us the Northville Art House as we presents a series of gallery talks this Fall. In this series, 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 and/or eduction programs on offer.
Saturday, September 28, 2 pm | Off-Center: Art That Pushes Boundaries
Photo by Mary Whelan
For this gallery talk, Rehema C. Barber, Director of Curatorial Affairs, Kalamazoo Institute of Arts and exhibition juror will discuss the contemporary art highlighting the artworks presented in the Off-Center: Art That Pushes Boundaries exhibition.
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. Learn more >>
Rehema C. Barber is the Director of Curatorial Affairs for the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts (KIA). Notable KIA exhibitions included Yun-Fei Ji: Tale Tales of Scavenger, Africa Imagined: Reflections on Modern & Contemporary Art, and Unmasking Masculinity for the 21st Century, the latter of which was a collaboration between herself and Larry Ossei-Mensah. In 2020, Barber helped conceive of the reinstallation plan and theme for the KIA’s permanent collection and previously consulted for the Harvey B. Gantt Center and the Cincinnati Art Museum. Read more >>
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 highlighting artworks 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.
