American Gallery will host reception, new show of work

5/16/2013
BY TAHREE LANE
BLADE STAFF WRITER

A meet-the-artists event will be 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday at the American Gallery, 6600 Sylvania Ave. A new show of work by 15 artists includes acrylics, oils, watercolors, photographs, drawings, and sculptures relating to the Oak Openings region. There will also be a collection of pots for plants by area potters, and Pam Reithmeier has created a sculpture of a lupine. It will continue through June 30. Information: 419-882-8949.

In business for 20 years, 20 North Gallery will close its doors May 24, said Eric Hillenbrand, owner of the fine-art gallery, established before the renaissance of downtown’s south end. Its final exhibit will be All Good Things, curated by Condessa Croninger, a retrospective of the gallery’s highlights. A celebration will be 6 to 9 p.m. May 24. The gallery is across the street from right field in Fifth Third Field at 18 N. St. Clair St. Reservations are suggested for the party at info@20northgallery.net and 419-241-2400.

Andrew Field, earning a master’s degree in English, will read his work at 8 p.m. Wednesday as part of the Featured Lines series at Launch Pad Cooperative, 911 Jefferson Ave. Information: www.launchpadcooperative.com

Isamu Noguchi and Qi Baishi: Beijing 1930, opens Saturday at the University of Michigan Museum of Art. It will exhibit more than 60 drawings, ink paintings, calligraphic works, and sculptures from the UMMA, the Noguchi Museum, and other collections by these two artists, showcasing their cross-cultural creative work and their influences on global contemporary art. It will continue through Sept. 1 and will travel to museums in New York City and Seattle.

In 1930, Noguchi (1904-1988), an American, met Baishi (1864-1957), a Chinese ink painter, in Beijing and studied with him, greatly affecting his vision of abstraction.

Several programs and events are organized in conjunction with the exhibition, including a 6:30 p.m. Friday discussion with Jenny Dixon, director of the Noguchi foundation and museum, and others. From 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday, the museum will present the symposium Isamu Noguchi and Qi Baishi: And Other Inspiring Encounters In and Beyond Modern Asian Art, with experts from around the world. The museum is at 525 S. State St., Ann Arbor. Information: umma.umich.edu and 734-763-8662.

Ellsworth Kelly: Prints of geometric shapes, flowers, and plants, will be at the Detroit Institute of Arts May 24 through Sept. 8. Kelly has more than 330 editions of individual prints in one of the most recognizable styles of modern art. Included are more than 100 prints from the mid-1960s to the present, on two floors. Information: dia.org and 313-833-7900.

Send items for News of Art at least two weeks ahead of the event to tlane@theblade.com.