The Muskegon Museum of Art (MMA) has opened a new exhibition this week—Russell Prather: Layers and Light—featuring the work of Michigan artist Russell Prather in a solo installation-style exhibition of his most recent work. The exhibition will run through Jan. 17, 2021.
The Artist’s Vision and the Viewer’s Vision Prather’s work consists of multiple flat layers of opaque and translucent surfaces that create illusions of three-dimensional forms that change depending on the viewer’s perspective. Senior Curator Art Martin shares the artist’s vision:
“And the Heart is Pleased by One Thing After Another,” a poetic fragment written by the ancient Greek poet Archilochus, is Russell Prather’s point of inspiration, demonstrating the joy that comes as exploration reveals a sequence of discoveries. Prather paints patterns on transparent polyester sheets that, when layered together, establish new forms that shift depending on the position of the viewer. As your point of view changes, so too does what you see, allowing you to redefine what you perceive in subtle to dramatic ways.
About Russell Prather Prather is a professor at Northern Michigan University, where he teaches interdisciplinary English and Honors courses on Eighteenth Century and Romantic Literary and Visual Culture, Word and Image, Fine Art: Modern Sources, Film. His work has appeared at ArtPrize in Grand Rapids.
Video Artist Talk: Q&A with Russell Prather A video artist talk with Russell Prather and a virtual walk-through of the exhibition will be available starting October 22 on the MMA’s Youtube channel.
Visitor Information The Muskegon Museum of Art, at 296 W. Webster Ave., Muskegon, Michigan, is open Tuesdays through Sundays, 11:00 am – 4:00 pm and closed Mondays. Visit www.muskegonartmuseum.org for up-to-date information.
ArtPrize, the radically open international art competition decided by public vote and expert jury, hosted the fourth annual Jurors’ Shortlist Event at the ArtPrize HUB Theatre on September 28.
Four ArtPrize Seven category award jurors revealed their shortlists of five artist entries in the categories of 2D, 3D, Installation, and Time-based. These twenty finalists will be in the running to win their respective $12,500 category awards and ultimately the $200,000 Juried Grand Prize.
GANGRENE by John Haverty
A fifth category award juror selected five ArtPrize venues to compete for the $12,500 Outstanding Venue juried award. The juried category award and Grand Prize winners will be announced at the ArtPrize Awards on October 9.
The category award jurors are:
Justine Ludwig: Director of Exhibitions / Senior Curator at Dallas Contemporary (2-D)
Sarah Urist Green: Indianapolis-based curator, creator and host of The Art Assignment (3-D)
Shari Frilot: Los Angeles-based Senior Programmer of Sundance Film Festival and Curator of New Frontier at Sundance (Time-Based)
Robin Cembalest: Editor and Art Critic (Installation)
Steven Matijcio: Cincinnati-based Curator of the Contemporary Arts Center (Outstanding Venue)
“The ArtPrize Seven category jurors each bring a unique perspective to the event, and have nominated works to their shortlists that are relevant and of the time within their respective categories,” commented Kevin Buist, ArtPrize Director of Exhibitions. “The selected works will challenge visitors to look more deeply at the range of entries spread across this year’s event, as Round 1 of the public vote continues.”
The 3-D juried category award is generously presented by Haworth. Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University presents the $200,000 Juried Grand Prize at ArtPrize Seven.
Uplift by Jarrod Beck
The Public Vote, central to the ArtPrize event, is sponsored by Meijer. The public vote category awards are presented by Foremost Insurance Group (2-D), Amway (3-D), and DTE Energy (Time-Based).
The five category award jurors have revealed their shortlisted picks within their respective categories. In no particular order, they are as follows:
Two-Dimensional
GANGRENE at Boardwalk GR Condominiums, by John Haverty from Marion, MA
The ArtPrize awards structure brings parallel tracks of public vote and juried awards totaling $500,000. Two $200,000 awards are decided by public vote and expert jury, and an additional $100,000 in prizes is awarded to the top entries in each category. During the 19 days of the seventh annual event, 1,550 artist entries representing 48 countries and 42 U.S. states are competing for these entry prizes, while 162 venues across Grand Rapids vie for the Outstanding Venue juried award.
