EXPRESSIONS REVISITED: 39th Annual Muskegon County Student Art Exhibition
March 25 through May 9, 2021
39th Annual Muskegon County Student Art Exhibition
Expressions, the annual Muskegon County student art exhibition, is an annual collaboration between the Muskegon Area Intermediate School District (MAISD) and the MMA that showcases the artistic talents of Muskegon County K-12 students. This year’s exhibition features student artworks in a variety of media that have been purchased by the MAISD in previous years. The works on display were selected from the MAISD collection by the Muskegon Museum of Art and MAISD staff.
Ansel Adams (American, 1902-1984) Gates of the Valley, Winter Silverprint photograph, 1948 Gift of the Friends of Art 1989.146.9
The artistic and technical contributions Ansel Adams made to photography established him as a legendary figure in American art. Seen by millions of viewers during his lifetime, Adams’s images documented the American wilderness, capturing transitory moments of light and weather that gave his subjects an emotive power not previously seen in landscape photography.
This exhibition features 24 iconic images of Yosemite National Park, the location and pictures that defined Adams’s internationally celebrated career. The Photographs of Yosemite reveals the emotionally evocative power of the photographer’s eye and technical prowess, establishing unforgettable scenes of America’s natural grandeur.
The suite was a gift of the Friends of Art and is presented as part of our celebration of their 100th Anniversary year. Learn about the exhibition: Friends of Art: 100 Years.
In 2021, The Friends of Art celebrates its 100th Anniversary as an organization dedicated to the study of the visual arts and the support of the Muskegon Museum of Art. In recognition of their long legacy of support, the MMA is excited to feature a selection of almost 30 artworks donated by the Friends to the museum’s own permanent collection over the decades. Visitors will discover a rich diversity of objects along with some of the museum’s most significant works of art, including pieces by James Richmond Barthé and Paul Howard Manship and one of our signature paintings, Tunis Ponsen’s Yacht Club Pier.
To learn more about Friends of Art and the programs they present, click HERE.
Tunis Ponsen American, 1891-1968 Yacht Club Pier Oil on canvas, 1931 Gift of the Friends of Art 1931.1
Paul Howard Manship (American, 1885-1966) Flight of Europa Bronze on onyx base, 1928 Gift of the Friends of Art 1944.1a-e
RISING VOICES 2.0: The Bennett Prize for Women Figurative Realist Painters
May 27 through September 5, 2021
Ten women from across the country who paint in the figurative realist style were named finalists for the $50,000 Bennett Prize®, the largest art award ever offered solely to women figurative realist painters, and now in its second round of awards. The finalists were selected from among 674 entrants, a number that surpasses the entrants in 2018, the inaugural year of The Prize. Endowed at The Pittsburgh Foundation by art collectors Steven Alan Bennett and Dr. Elaine Melotti Schmidt, The Prize is designed to propel the careers of women artists.
The winner of the $50,000 award will be announced at the exhibition opening on May 27. An exhibition of the finalists’ works will travel following the Muskegon Museum of Art showing. Stops in Florida, Georgia and Tennessee are planned and more venues will be added. Alongside the finalists exhibition, the winner of The Bennett Prize 1.0, Aneka Ingold, will present her solo show.
The 10 finalists, in alphabetical order, are:
Sophia-Yemisi Adeyemo-Ross, Providence, Rhode Island
Tanmaya Bingham, Portland, Oregon
Chloe Chiasson, Brooklyn, New York
June Glasson, Millbrook, New York
Holly Keogh, Charlotte, North Carolina
Lavely Miller, Baltimore, Maryland
Rebecca Orcutt, North Bend, Washington
Ayana Ross, McDonough, Georgia
Su Su, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Amy Werntz, Dallas, Texas