Four regional artists will exhibit distinctly different artwork in the Series 4 exhibits opening July 14th at the Box Factory for the Arts, 1101 Broad Street. The exhibits will continue through September 10th in all four galleries. An opportunity to meet the artists will attend a reception from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Light snacks and beer and wine will be available. Visits to The Box Factory galleries are free and open to the public on Wednesdays-Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with extended hours until 7 p.m. on Thursdays.
In the Robert Williams Gallery
Kalamazoo artist Kate Welke specializes in abstract acrylic pieces, furniture and interior design. She is preoccupied with ritual, balance, and the dream of time. "The habit of time and consideration of color is an exploration of place -- the width and depth of it, " Kate says in her artist statement.
Kate was raised in Stevensville and Varese, Italy. She studied fine and art at Kalamazoo College. After living and working in New Zealand and Seattle, she returned to Michigan where she began her study of the design and craftmanship of furniture. She then trained at the Center for Furniture Craftmanship in Rockport, Maine. She is the co-founder of Theave, a furniture design studio in Kalamazoo which she runs with her twin sister Karly.
Heartha Whitlow Gallery
"Pivot Point, abstract modern quilts" by Denise Kalin Tackett will be exhibited in the Heartha Whitlow Gallery. The resident of Stevensville has been a quilter for nearly 25 years. She says tt was during the pandemic that she began the study of Abstract Expressionism and began incorporating the principles of that art form to quilts.
"Obviously fabric doesn't move like paint, but using improvisational piecing, which is a form of using flexible patterning, instead of fixed patterning. I think I was able to come pretty close," she says in her artist statement.
Denise spent her professional life as a commercial writer. She now works on creative writing and for 12 years led the Writers' Studio program at the Box Factory.
Sky Level Gallery
"Real Life in Storybook Fashion," the artwork of Union Pier artist Susan Henshaw, will be in the Sky Level Gallery. "The stories range from sweet to tongue-in-cheek to very dark, mirroring our achievements and failures as a society," Susan says in her artist statement.
After many years of painting aspects of nature in oils and pastels, she said she "hit a creative wall." She then began experimenting with acrylics and abstract art. "I saw shapes and figures within the abstracts that I can only describe as a cross between the Rorschach Test, Where's Waldo and Dot to Dot...The characters took shape forming complete stories."
A self-taught artist, Susan has received many juried awards for her work. Recently, she received the Best of Show at the Midwest Museum of American Art in Elkhart, IN. Her pastel, "Primordial River" was the first ever pastel to be chosen in the show's 35-year history and is now part of the Museum's permanent collection. She has also been chosen as an Artist-in-Residence at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Porcupine Mountains State Park and Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.
Riverwalk Gallery
Poetic Licenses by Greg Constantine of Berrien Springs are works composed of more than 150 "Artist Licenses" which are text art presented in the format of automobile vanity plates. They will be on exhibit in the Riverwalk Gallery.
Greg taught painting, drawing and art history at Andrews University for 43 years. He began exhibiting his work nationally in 1969. Since then, he has been in a multitude of shows across the country, including at the Box Factory. He says his work has developed over time, much of which conveys his background in art history.
For more on this and other Box Factory events, visit the Box online at Home - Box Factory for the Arts or on Facebook at https://facebook.com/
Series 4 - Box Factory for the Arts
Date and Time
Friday Sep 8, 2023
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM EDT
Location
Box Factory for the Arts
1101 Broad St.
St. Joseph, MI 49085
Website
