Expressions is the annual student art exhibition showcasing the artistic talents of Muskegon County K-12 students. In its 42nd year, Expressions includes two and three-dimensional artworks created in a variety of media from thirteen different Muskegon County school districts.
Exhibition Dates: March 28 – May 19
Meet the Artists:
Middle & High School Reception: Wednesday, April 24 | 5:30 PM
Elementary School Reception: Thursday, April 25 | 5:30 PM
Expressions is generously supported by the Muskegon Area Intermediate District and RENK
Oliver Jeffers: 15 Years of Picturing Books
March 14 through May 26, 2024
Oliver Jeffers makes art and tells stories.
Oliver Jeffers is an award-winning visual artist and author working in painting, bookmaking, illustration, collage, performance, and sculpture. Curiosity and humor are underlying themes throughout Oliver’s work as an artist and storyteller. His critically acclaimed picture books are wildly popular with over 14 million copies sold worldwide and translated into over fifty languages.
This exhibition highlights eighty original artworks from Jeffers’s picture books throughout his career and offers creative interactives for all ages to enjoy. From the first sketches of How to Catch a Star to the alternate covers of Here We Are, the exhibition brings together never-before-seen original artworks alongside the familiar faces of Jeffers’s worlds. The exhibition features eighty line drawings, sketches, and finished illustrations for sixteen children’s picture books, including the wildly popular The Day the Crayons Quit and its sequel, The Day the Crayons Came Home; Here We Are; The Incredible Book Eating Boy; This Moose Belongs to Me; and Once Upon an Alphabet.
Oliver Jeffers: 15 Years of Picturing Books is organized by the National Centre for Children’s Illustrated Literature.
Exhibition Dates: March 14 – May 26
Exhibition Events:
Storytime in the Galleries with Hackley Public Library – Thursday, March 14 | 4 PM
Spring Break PJParty at the Museum! – Thursday, April 4 | 4-7:30 PM
Wear your favorite pajamas to the Spring Break PJ Party at the Muskegon Museum of Art! Have fun with art activities, a museum-wide scavenger hunt, and stories in the Oliver Jeffers: 15 Years of Picturing Books exhibition. Finish off the night enjoying snacks and watching an animated film in the auditorium!
4-6 PM – Art Activity [classroom] 5:15 PM – Story Time [auditorium]
6-7:30 PM – Popcorn & Movie [auditorium] film seating is first-come-first-serve
Free & Open to the Public. The Spring Break PJ Party is in partnership with Hackley Public Library.
Storytime in the Galleries with Hackley Public Library – Thursday, April 11 | 4 PM
Storytime in the Galleries with Hackley Public Library – Thursday, May 16 | 4 PM
Exhibition Highlights:
Visions: 16 Detroit Artists
January 18 through April 28, 2024
The world-famous Detroit art scene comes to West Michigan in an exhibition featuring 16 contemporary Detroit artists whose work highlights the strength and vibrancy of the Detroit art community.
Visions: 16 Detroit Artists at the Muskegon Museum of Art will feature a variety of media influenced by the Detroit art scene. From jazz inspired collages to large scale portraits, photography to photorealism, these works of art reveal the unique and diverse stories from within the art communities of Detroit. The exhibiting artists are Gil Ashby, Peter Bernal, Judy Bowman, Bakpak Durden, Laura Gibson, Henry Heading, Michael Horner, Sydney James, Richard Lewis, Dr. Hubert Massey, Nivek Monet, Carole Morriseau, Vernard Rubens, Ackeem Salmon, Richard Wilson, and Shirley Woodson.
Dr. Hubert Massey, an award-winning Detroit artist and muralist, guest curated Visions: 16 Detroit Artists. Massey is best known for his public murals, which can be found throughout the state of Michigan, especially Detroit in Mexicantown, Greektown, at the Cultural Center, Cobo Hall, Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, and the Detroit Athletic Club. Here in West Michigan, Massey’s work can be found in downtown Muskegon on the face of the VanDyk Mortgage Convention Center.
Exhibition Events:
Opening reception: Thursday, January 18 |5 PM
Detroit Artists Panel: Thursday, April 18 | 6PM – The Panel will be led by Dr. Hubert Massey with artists Shirley Woodson, Sydney James, Carole Morisseau, Richard Lewis, and Peter Bernail.
Exhibition Features:
Richard Wilson, SP1200 Still Life
Judy Bowman, When the Caged Bird Sings
Bakpak Durden, Sedibus
Hubert Massey, Cartoon
Henry Heading, African Queen
Visions: 16 Detroit Artists is generously sponsored by DTE Energy and PNC Bank.
John Steuart Curry: Weathering the Storm
May 23 through September 2, 2024
John Steuart Curry: Weathering the Storm | May 23 – September 2
The Muskegon Museum of Art is proud to present John Steuart Curry: Weathering the Storm, a showcase reunion of Curry’s most iconic masterpieces as new research reveals a fresh perspective into the life and art of one of America’s most influential artists. This exhibition will bring together Curry’s masterworks under one roof for the first time in over two decades.
“Tornado Over Kansas”, John Steuart Curry
John Steuart Curry: Weathering the Storm highlights the artwork that visually defined the Midwest and tells the captivating and tragic story behind the work and life of John Steuart Curry. His paintings, which depict picturesque rural landscapes, communal gatherings, and most famously, the devastating natural disasters that impacted the Midwest, influenced the national perception of life in the region through popular culture and media in the late 1920’s.
Iconic paintings, such as “Tornado Over Kansas” and “Baptism in Kansas”, will be featured in the exhibition alongside other notable works loaned from The Cincinnati Art Museum, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, The Saint Louis Art Museum, The Sheldon Museum of Art, The Syracuse University Art Museum, The Whitney Museum of American Art, and Kiechel Fine Art.
For this exhibition, the Muskegon Museum of Art partnered with independent scholar and curator Patricia Junker, whose new research and insight into Curry challenges the conventional understanding of Curry and reveals the deeply personal, and emotionally tragic inspiration behind his breakthrough paintings.
Exhibition Dates: May 23 – September 2
John Steuart Curry: Weathering the Storm is presented by Mike & Kay Ohtoff.
From sandy beaches to renowned art collections, Muskegon is the hub of arts, culture, and adventure along the shores of Lake Michigan. Check out things to do in Muskegon at https://www.visitmuskegon.org/