Grand Valley State University Venue

Grand Valley State University's Robert C. Pew Grand Rapids Campus is situated along the Grand River between Pearl and Fulton Street, and located at the west end of the historic Blue Bridge. The Blue Bridge is a heavy populated pedestrian bridge that connects the west side of Grand Rapids, to Grand Rapids City Center. The metropolitan downtown campus is accessed by numerous students, visitors, faculty and staff and many conferences and events are scheduled during the ArtPrize Exhibition. The beautiful grounds of L.V. Eberhard Center, Fred M Keller Engineering Lab and John C. Kennedy Hall of Engineering make this an ideal place to showcase exterior works of art by local, national an international artists.

Grand Valley State University has a long tradition of supporting the arts. The university's permanent collection now numbers over 10,000 works of art, collected in support of its educational mission. The majority of these works are displayed throughout the university's grounds and facilities, to promote diversity and cultural understanding. The collection has also been established to enrich the lives of students, faculty, staff and the community. The collection features works in a wide range of media by faculty, students and GVSU alumni. Additionally, many of Michigan's finest visual artists, and numerous works by renowned national and international artists works are included in the collection. The collection can be viewed online at www.gvsu.edu/artgallery and by downloading the free mobile application for the iPhone, Art at GVSU. Development of applications for Android and other mobile devices are underway.

September 19 through October 7, 2012

Freedom Bound

Charles McGee, award winning artist from Detroit, MI
Details - Year created: 2012, 108" wide, 28" deep and 60" high, 3-D Powder coated aluminum/Water jet fabricated
“Art charts the course of time on its journey through the straits of universal order.  It processes and applies signature to the uniqueness of human thoughts and perceptions.  I believe that all earthly elements, animate and inanimate, exist and operate in the service of nature equally . . . and in the end, converts simply into dust in the downwind of time.”

“Freedom Bound: a journey, life's unique pathway, lineage, language.  Lines liberated to move mass through space and time in route to build beautiful tomorrows.  Purged of Chroma, improvisational achromatic black and white patterns play across the surface plane like cymbals articulating jazz rhythm sounds.  The motivating logic ever present in nature's system of opposites which governs universal order is the source of energy that shapes the content of my imagery.”

Scrap is Beautiful - the view from Stuart's eye

Juan Luna, Sculptor, Holland, MI
Details -Year created: 2012, 12' wide, 8’ high, 15’ deep, 3-D Sculpture using recycled material
“Juan Luna has been welding for over four decades, though his work focused mostly on function until he came to Michigan. He joined Louis Padnos Iron and Metal in 1995 and came to work for Stuart Padnos. When Stuart began designing sculptures, Juan was the one to whom he turned to make his vision a reality. They collaborated on dozens of sculptures including the Michigan Marching Band at Fredrik Meijer Gardens and 48 at the Gerald Ford Presidential Museum. With Stuart’s passing this year, Juan continues the tradition of transforming scrap metal into artistic creations.”

“Stuart B. Padnos (1922-2012) married his two passions by using his artistic eye to create sculptural pieces from scrap materials. Stuart’s uncanny ability to walk through our operations and visualize scrap transformed into sculpture is celebrated with 7 of his most recognizable pieces re-created by Stuart’s collaborator Juan Luna. Juan took Stuart’s visions (sometimes no more than a drawing on a napkin) and turned them into the striking pieces of art throughout West Michigan including the PADNOS facilities in Holland. Stuart’s vision beautifies the landscape and makes people smile. Scrap is Beautiful contains portrayals of Stuart and several of his pieces. The idea for the band came when a customer sent band instruments to be recycled for the brass. Zeebra Power was originally created from a shaft from a power plant. Stuart saw flowers in the scrap from heavy forging operations and a mobile in metal lying on the ground. We miss Stuart and celebrate his life with this entry.”

Swag Masters Meet Spaghetti Tacos

Students from Vanderbilt Charter Academy, Holland, MI, In Collaboration with artist Ann Willey, Mixed-media painter from Grand Rapids, MI
Details - Year created: 2012, 2-D, painting

Stack of Masked Boxes

Students from West Michigan Academy of Arts and Academics, Spring Lake, MI, In collaboration with artist Jeff Blandford, ceramist from Saugatuck, MI
Details -Year created: 2012, 3D, ceramic sculpture
No image available

Friends and Family

Students from Henry Ford Academy School for Creative Studies, Dearborn, MI, In collaboration with artist Elaine Dalcher, oil painter from Grand Rapids, MI
Details - Year created: 2012, 3-D wood and recycled bicycle tires
The project is a series of organic sculptures made from tree parts and recycled bicycle tires.
No image available.

Lake and Land Michigan

Students from Global Heights Academy, Dearborn Heights, MI, In collaboration with artist Rana Chalabi, water color/ink painter from Maadi, Egypt
Details -Year created: 2012, 2-D watercolor painting.
No image available

Grand Rapids View

Students from Black River Public School, Holland, MI with artist collaboration:  Cyril Lixenberg, international artist from Amsterdam, Netherlands and David Keister, Affiliate Professor at Grand Valley State University
Details - Year created: 2012, 2-D Silk Screen.
No image available.