OU's Art Gallery celebrates tenth anniversary with special exhibition

By Katie Land, news editor

The Oakland University Art Gallery celebrates its tenth anniversary in a special exhibition this fall.

The Oakland University Art Gallery is slated to celebrate 10 years of creativity, education and art at a special exhibition running from Saturday, Sept. 11, to Saturday, Oct. 17.

“Ten Years of Contemporary Art at the Oakland University Art Gallery” showcases the work of 20 local artists, utilizing a variety of mediums and styles of work ranging from video and new media to sculpture, photography and painting.

“Of course we want to show the richness of contemporary art in our community, but this is also a celebration of the gallery's success,” said Dick Goody, associate professor of art and director of the OUAG. “Over the last 10 years we've done more than sixty exhibitions and published more than fifty exhibition catalogues. We're in the business of contextualizing, documenting and promoting art.”

As an added educational component to this exhibition, each artist was invited to show both a new piece of art and one they created within the last 10 years. Presented alongside the artwork is a statement from each artist about how his or her work has changed over time, offering plenty to see, read, think about and learn.

“A gallery like OUAG that shows new art offers a completely fresh look at the way living artists are responding to their time,” Goody continued. “In a sense, galleries are like gatekeepers. They are a first look, a first step in compiling an idea, other than that offered by mass culture, of what is and what will be. To students this presents a condensed, analytical look at their culture which is new, serious and places what they see in context.”

Gallery exhibitions have been reviewed in national journals such as Art in America and Sculpture magazine.

The gallery hosts multiple exhibits every year and has showcased important collections including “Between Matter and Spirit: Russian Icon Painting from the Kotlyarov Collection,” “A Heritage of Teaching: The African Art Collection Of Catherine C. Blackwell,” and “Seminal Works from the N'Namdi Collection of African American Art.”

The show will open with two receptions on Saturday, Sept. 11. From 5-7 p.m., there will be a champagne and hors d'oevres reception fundraiser. Tickets are $60 each or $100 per couple. At 7 p.m., the reception will open to the campus community and general public.

OUAG is open from noon to 5 p.m. every day except for Mondays and holidays and is located in 208 Wilson Hall. For more information about the gallery, view the website at oakland.edu/ouag or call (248) 370 3005.