Past Exhibitions at the KIA

Michigan-based artist Manierre Dawson is recognized for his important contributions to the development of abstract painting in America. Raised in Chicago, Dawson spent his later years here in Michigan. Though he had been an engineering student, art was his true passion.

Reflecting the history of African American art, 60 works in various mediums feature some of the most important African American artists from the 19th century to present day.

Flowers in Chinese art are symbolic of moods, seasons, and sentiments. This exhibition features Chinese paintings and ceramics from the collection of the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts and on loan from the collection of Joy and Timothy Light.

A growing number of contemporary artists explore the interplay between function, structure and format of books by cutting, folding, carving, drilling and gluing them into amazing sculptures and installations that honor and transcend the meaning held within the original pages.

Nina Belle Ward's enduring mark on Kalamazoo came through her teaching at the KIA and Central High School. This exhibition reveals her own artistic skill in portraiture, still life, and harbor scenes by bringing together work in collections from coast to coast.

A juried exhibition, the Area Show draws hundreds of entries from a 14-county region of West Michigan. Jurors this year were KIA Executive Director Belinda Tate, and Hamza Walker, Associate Curator and Director of Education of The Renaissance Society at The University of Chicago.

Work by artists 18 years or younger, in grades 9-12, residing in Allegan, Barry, Berrien, Branch, Calhoun, Cass, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph and Van Buren counties. Cash prizes and scholarships awarded, and a winner named for the 6th Congressional District entry to the Congressional Art Competition.

For a few weeks each year, our galleries are filled with the most creative, colorful, whimsical art by young artists from kindergarten through eighth grades.

A rare glimpse of the diversity and rich tradition in Chinese folk pottery: regional examples of decorative or utilitarian folk ware, some techniques widespread across China, others are localized to specific ethnic communities or regions.

Featuring the work of Japanese artists with foundations and formal training in printmaking, some of whom are more associated with other media, though the production of multiples remains at the core of their process.

Does a picture really tell a thousand words? Works from the KIA collection interpreted in a literary way, accompanied by the literary response of a local poet.The exhibition coincides with the 2015 National Poetry Month in April.

Detailed wire sculptures-giant ephemeral portraits and landscape scenes created by cutting multiple layers of wire mesh, and meticulously wrapping cast objects and figurative forms.

This exhibition features the work of seven Chinese photographers whose images of the Chinese people and environment offer social commentary and reflect both tradition and change.

In celebration of the KIA's 90th anniversary in 2014, an exhibition of highlights from the collection, including works by Rembrandt, Hiram Powers, William Merritt Chase, Mary Cassatt, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, Ansel Adams, Edward Hopper, Jackson Pollack, Charles Burchfield, Jacob Lawrence, Andrew Wyeth, and Robert Mapplethorpe.

Throughout his museum career, Jim Bridenstine, developed a personal art collection spanning several centuries and focusing on European and American art. Including paintings, sculpture, photography, prints, and the decorative arts, the collection reveals interest in the landscape, the human figure, and the portrait.