Wild Corporation
Mimi Kato
Select recent exhibitions from the Rose N. and James W. Kerr Gallery
David Small and Sarah Stewart
Gardens in the Art & Life ofDavid Small and Sarah Stewart
September 23 - November 14, 2021
Sarah Stewart, Garden Journal 2001, Special Collections, Western Michigan University Libraries
David Small, Birdbath, Michigan Summer Sketchbook, July 6, 2002, Special Collections, Western Michigan University Libraries
The Richmond Center for Visual Arts is pleased to announce participation in a city-wide effort celebrating WMU Libraries' recent acquisition of a major archive featuring Michigan-based husband and wife, author-illustrator team David Small and Sarah Stewart. Purchased by WMU Libraries during the fall of 2019, the archive spans 1970 to the present and documents the artistic, literary, and intellectual life of two of America's most distinguished, award-winning children's book authors. Opening officially at WMU's Zhang Legacy Collections Center during the fall of 2021, the archive traces the pair's literary production, professional careers, and personal lives, including journals that feature dreams, travelogues, gardening plans, book production notes, correspondence with editors, librarians, booksellers, other authors and illustrators, as well as fans.
Joining such venues as the Kalamazoo Public Library, the Kalamazoo Book Arts Center, the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, University Libraries, and WMU's Department of English, the Richmond Center for Visual Arts will host an intimate exhibition featuring Small and Stewart's illustrations, sketches, drawings, and journal pages that focus on gardening and the natural world. As both a research and teaching collection, works now in the archive have earned such recognition as the Caldecott Medal 2004, Caldecott Honor 1997 and 2012, and recognition as National Book Award Finalists in 2009.
For further information about the many community exhibitions and events related to this exhibition, please visit the WMU Library's website here: wmich.edu/library/small-stewart
Recent Gifts: Selections from the University Art Collection
March 1 - May 2, 2021
Less than twenty years after WMU's founding in 1903, the University Art Collection was established in 1922 with a major gift from collector and philanthropist Albert May Todd. Today comprised of nearly 3000 objects, of which more than 1000 are classified as prints, the University Art Collection is displayed in curated exhibitions at the Richmond Center for Visual Arts and in common areas across 52 buildings on WMU's main and satellite campuses. Contributing positively to the education, everyday experience, and work-life quality of WMU students, faculty, staff, regional and international visitors, the University Art Collection continues to grow with enormous energy each year.
In 2020 alone, the University Art Collection was fortunate to receive nearly 300 works of art as gifts from artists, alumni, and generous donors. This special exhibition features works by John Kollig WMU alumnus and former advisor and instructor at the School of Art; the School of Art's namesake, celebrated printmaker and trail-blazing entrepreneur Gwen Frostic; Colorado-based artist Mel Strawn, who served as the Director for the School of Art in 1987; and Al LaVergne, who served as Professor of Art and coordinator of the sculpture area at the Frostic School of Art for more than two decades.
