On the night of Friday, Sept. 23, 400 visitors attended the opening reception for the exhibition “Inked, Pressed, Cut & Sewn” at Calvin’s (106) Gallery in downtown Grand Rapids. (106) Gallery, an official ArtPrize venue, is playing host to thirteen ArtPrize entries this year, all surrounding the exhibition’s theme, which explores how fibrous materials are manipulated and changed in the process of art-making. Artists often incorporated two or more of the four themes of the title, “Inked, Pressed, Cut & Sewn,” in their work.
Katherine Corpe is one artist whose work was chosen for the (106) Gallery exhibition. Her set of monotypes, entitled “Magna,” depict bulls that appear at once both dynamic and frozen in time and incorporate both inking and printmaking. Corpe explained, “I’m drawn to the idea of the mighty beast that is large and has so much strength, and yet can be weak and falls so quickly to the hands of humans, as in rodeos and bull-taming … I saw it as a metaphor for my life at the time … so this piece was a way for me to use the bull as a vessel to describe my inner emotion and struggle of being very much in control and yet so fragile against the unexpected.”
This is Corpe’s first entry in ArtPrize, and she is excited about having her work in the (106) Gallery. “This is a beautiful gallery … I feel like all the work melds together so beautifully.” (106) Gallery’s exhibition is a curated show; the thirteen pieces were chosen to fit the exhibition’s theme.
Commenting on ArtPrize as a whole, Corpe was enthusiastic. “It’s a powerhouse within the city. You can just feel the energy throughout the two weeks,” Corpe said.
Another artist displaying her work in (106) is Calvin art professor Jo-Ann Van Reeuwyk. She described the atmosphere ArtPrize brings to the downtown area: “Walking downtown and seeing all these people come up for this experience is really wonderful,” she said. “What I really like about what’s happened in the last little while is that it’s not only visual art, but it’s music, it’s dance. All the arts are represented. [ArtPrize] is becoming more and more a welcoming space.”
Space plays a big part in Van Reeuwyk’s inspiration. “I’ve been thinking about what space means to individuals and how space can be represented for people by creating smaller spaces. For me, sacred space means not only where you can thrive, but where you can risk and take chances, and feel that you are completely yourself.” Van Reeuwyk works mainly with making paper and the transformation the simple ingredients of plants, water, air and sun undergo to become paper. Her piece, “Metamorphosis,” is composed of handmade paper which is then formed around yew twigs and stitched with wax linen, silk and porcupine quills.
This is Van Reeuwyk’s eighth year entering ArtPrize. She said that she is displaying her work at the 106 Gallery not only because of its ties to Calvin, “But because it allows me to be downtown a lot so I can represent my art but then also mingle with the attendees … It’s great that so many people are talking about art and coming from all over to experience art.” She added that, however, “The fact that the (106) Gallery is closing down makes the experience bittersweet.”
Calvin College announced last week that it would not renew the (106) Gallery’s lease. “Inked, Pressed, Cut & Sewn” is the gallery’s final show as a Calvin-owned institution.
“Inked, Pressed, Cut & Sewn” will be open until October 9. Gallery hours are Monday – Saturday 12 p.m. – 8 p.m. and Sunday 12 p.m. – 6 p.m. (106) Gallery is located at 106 South Division in the Heartside neighborhood.
