Past Exhibitions at the KIA
2014-2015
![]() |
Manierre Dawson: Engineering Abstraction August 29 - December 13 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. |
|
![]() |
Common Ground: African American Art from the Flint Institute of Arts, the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, and the Muskegon Museum of Art August 22 - November 15, 2015 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 June 27 - December 9, 2015 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. |
|
![]() |
Adaptation: Transforming Books Into Art June 6 - September 6, 2015 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. |
|
![]() |
Rediscovering Nina Belle Ward May 16 - August 23, 2015 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. |
|
![]() |
West Michigan Area Show May 9 - August 9, 2015 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. |
|
![]() |
2015 High School Area Show and Congressional Art Competition April 25 - May 24, 2015 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. |
|
![]() |
2015 Young Artists of Kalamazoo County March 25 - April 15, 2015 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. |
|
![]() |
Chinese Folk Pottery: The Art of the Everyday March 14 - June 21, 2015 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. |
|
![]() |
Redefining the Multiple January 17 - April 26, 2015 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. |
|
![]() |
Second Sight/Insight II January 10 - May 10, 2015 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. |
|
![]() |
Wired and Wrapped: Sculpture by Seungmo Park December 20, 2014 - March 15, 2015 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. |
|
![]() |
How to Return? Contemporary Chinese Photography November 15, 2014 - March 8, 2015 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. |
|
![]() |
Lasting Legacy: A Collection for Kalamazoo September 6 - January 4, 2014 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. |
|
![]() |
A Collector's Eye: Works from the Collection of Sheila and Jim Bridenstine September 6, 2014 - January 4, 2015 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. |