Off-Center: Art That Pushes Boundaries

September 3 – 28, 2024

Off-Center invited artists from around the country to push the boundaries of art imagery with works that inspire thought, provoke emotion, and induce awe. From the bizarre and emotive to the fantastic and inspirational, this juried exhibition strives to surprise and thrill visitors.

The exhibition, juried by Rehema C. Barber, features 34 works by the following 32 artists: Suzanne Allen, Kathleen Burke, Winnie Chrzanowski, Pamela Day, Paula Doe, Robert du Nord, Arlene Evans, Dennis Gordon, Claudia Hershman, Steph Joy Hogan, Peggy Kerwan, Rosemary Lee, Marcella MacLean, Brant MacLean, Kathleen McNamee, Andrea Novak, Michael Nowotny, Denise Rohde, Bill Schahfer, Vicki Schroeder, Chuck Schroeder, Adam Scott, Fran Seikaly, MJ Seltzer, Steve Shuran, Rose Starke, Penelope Trikes, Pat Vartanian, Janis Walker, Janice Wilkiemeyer, Jane Zich, and Lori Zurvalec.

View and purchase the art on view. Award winners below.


Join us on September 28 at 2 pm for a Gallery Talk with Rehema C. Barber, Director of Curatorial Affairs, Kalamazoo Institute of Arts as she discusses her work at the KIA and the works in Off-Center.

Photo by Mary Whelan

Rehema C. Barber is the Director of Curatorial Affairs for the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts (KIA). Previously, Barber held positions at the Tarble Arts Center at Eastern Illinois University, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Memphis, The Amistad Center at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, among others.

Barber has participated in the Art Writing Workshop sponsored by the Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant and AICA-USA, the Getty Leadership Institute, the Japan Foundation’s Curatorial Exchange Program, and was a 2001 Saint Louis Art Museum Romare Bearden Fellow.

For the KIA specifically, notable 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 >>


AWARD WINNERS

1st-Vernazza, Cinque Terre, Italy, by Dennis Gordon

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1st Place Award: Dennis Gordon of Ann Arbor for Vernazza, Cinque Terry, Italy, cardboard engraving

2nd Place Award: M.J. Seltzer of Commerce Charter Twp. for Daughter of Lilith, encaustic collage on paper and  birch panel with yarn and gold leaf

3rd Place Award: Pamela Day of Wixom for Transition, oxide-stained clay, caran d’ache, and mixed media

4th Place Award: Andrea Novak of Novi for That Was a Good Day, mixed media on wood panel

Honorable Mention Awards
  • Stephan Shuran of South Lyon for Can you see it? (with love to LeRoy Neiman) iPhone photography
  • Pat Vartanian of Novi for Catherine, photoweaving on canvas with doilies 
  • Vicki Schroeder of Livonia for Time To Reflect photography
  • Janice Wilkiemeyer of Northville for The Colors of My Garden acrylic and oxides on clay mounted onto wood