GRAND RAPIDS — It’s a new year with new events and art to explore. Grand Rapids Arts presents the First Friday Art Walk 4-7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 5.
MacRostie Art Center Executive Director Katie Marshall joined the KAXE Morning Show to discuss details.
Here’s what’s happening:
MacRostie Art Center
“A Lost Art” is showing in the Minnesota Gallery with found object sculpture by John Bauer, co-host of Friday's KAXE Morning Show. The evening includes a reception with food, wine, and other refreshments 4-7 p.m., with an artist talk at 6 p.m.
“I just think there's beauty in everything,” said Bauer about his latest exhibit of sculptures.
His sculptures are made of items he's found at recycling centers, junk yards, and dumpsters. “I have a knack for seeing things that are beautiful and my beauty is something different."
Bauer described one of his large statues on display.
"Just a big, massive bent piece of steel that's green and I mounted it on an ashtray stand I saw just sticking out of a scrap yard in in Hibbing," he said.
He added, "Oh my God, why would you throw this away? So you take it home and you clean it up and you use a wire brush on your drill and it just pops.”
To Bauer, everything deserves a second chance, including old dolls, musical instruments and scrap metal.
“Time has made me happy."John Bauer, in reference to his new chapter in life as an artist
In his artist statement, Bauer says after retirement from full-time work at KAXE, he had the time to learn to be an artist and put his ideas into practice.
“Time has taught me to appreciate every day,” he wrote, adding retirement makes him feel like he can’t waste a single minute. His sculptures show him the joy of bringing something discarded back to life, with a new purpose.
“A Lost Art” will be on display in the Minnesota Gallery at MacRostie Art Center until the end of February. You can see the sculptures here.
Giinawind Creative Space
Scout Humphrey’s exhibit "Decidedly Weird Birdie Nest” is opening as well at the newest gallery at the MacRostie Art Center, Giinawind Creative Space.
Marshall said of Humphrey’s work: “It's very inspirational in terms of just seeing that kind of a glimpse into somebody's creative mind.”
The exhibit will run until the end of February and reveals the whimsical, weird and wonderful mind of Humphrey, an artist from Deer River.
The Giinawind Creative Space is a gathering place for the creative community that seeks to provide an opportunity for cultural connections while creating a catalyst for community development.
Giinawind is an Ojibwemowin inclusive pronoun that means we/us. It was chosen for the name as a reflection of a vision for a space that centers Indigenous art and artists while welcoming the whole community.
Rapids Brewing Co.
Perennial favorite Sam Miltich and friends will perform jazz 6-9 p.m. at Rapids Brewing Co. Special guest Tony Balluff on clarinet.
