Exhibition Reception: Transitory Conversations
Conversations occur in literal and metaphorical means when materials and people interact and connect. Conversations are the purest form of communication, exchange and transmission of information. The inherent characteristics and sensations that materials possess are utilized and exploited by the specific choices each artist makes. The stories told and formed by these material decisions create a dialog. This dialog is exemplified visually by the individual artists means of communication with their work. Each artist's work in turn creates a conversation with the work in proximity to it. The conversations that manifest between the materials and the artists become the focus of the exhibition. It is these transitory conversations that are created that invite the viewer to engage and participate in the discussion.
Transitory Conversations is an exhibition of work by six artists who possess a wealth of multidisciplinary skills sets and material knowledge. The exhibition focuses on 3-dimensional sculpture and includes both free standing and wall works. Each artist's investigations address different themes and narratives that cross-balance the exhibition, utilizing different approaches and treatment of materials.
Event details:
Artists include:
Alyssa Bogdan
Having been raised in houses built from the ground up Alyssa Bogdan's work persistently exhibits architecture and interior aesthetics. Recently she has been exploring interior and exterior structures in conjunction with a shifting perception on the memory of dwellings throughout life. Considering the patterns of thought relating to movement and color; she hopes to create a circumstance that recollects and responds intuitively to the sincerity of a moment in deep thought and spark subconscious communication within ones relation to personal memory of belonging, home and architecture. She earned her BFA from the College for Creative Studies in 2015. She currently both lives and works in Detroit, MI.
Peter Dunn
Peter Dunn received sculpture degrees from Wayne State University (BFA) and University of Michigan (MFA). For over 15 years, he has taught all levels of students within various departments at College for Creative Studies, most notably in the Foundations Department. Dunn has worked diligently to develop a 3-D curriculum for the department which establishes the foundational needs for students to experience success in their chosen majors. He has exhibited extensively in Michigan as a sculptor and in recent years, as a furniture designer. His design company, Peanut Butter Dancer LLC has worked with multiple design and architecture firms, such as M1DTW and 4th Wall, to create and fabricate custom furniture, lighting, and sculpture. Notable clients have included fabrication and installation for DC3, Shinola, and Davo Photo. Dunn's greatest passion is educating emerging artists and designers while preparing them for what their artistic futures will ask of them.
Jen Fitzpatrick
Jen Fitzpatrick has worked with color and materials for twenty years, as a glaser at Pewabic Pottery for two years, and as an instructor of Color, 3D Design and Materials in both the Undergraduate and Graduate programs at the College for Creative Studies for 18 years. She has a BFA in Drawing and Design from the University of Michigan and an MA in Sculpture from Wayne State University. Her work in sculpture combines color stories with wood and found materials. Her sculptural practice is rooted in shape and color stories that look at 'Awareness', and concepts that speak to sensory and visual language. Her work speaks to human response and environmental concerns.
John Rizzo
John Rizzo is currently the Woodshop Manager in Academic Facilities and Adjunct Faculty in the Foundations Department at the College for Creative Studies. John has lent his labor and teaching skills to a wide variety of community organizations, art projects and schools, including: MOCAD, Arts Place, Art on the Move, Hamtramck High School, CAMP Detroit and People for Palmer Park Arts. Rizzo has participated as both a student and assistant at Pilchuck Glass School, Penland Craft School, Parsons Up North as well as Peter's Valley. John has displayed his works nationwide at various venues; in addition to his dedication to art scholarship, teaching and academia, John runs 4th Wall Concepts LLC, a company which focuses on design, fabrication, and consultation. 4th Wall Concepts has performed work for notable companies such as Moose Jaw, Shinola, DPOP, DC3, FTCH Architects, Sachse Construction and many others.
William Tyrrell
William Tyrrell found his true passion for art and design while attending the College for Creative Studies (CCS) with a degree focused on Interdisciplinary Furniture Design. Working in many creative industries throughout his time in Detroit, he is currently a 3D design instructor at CCS. William's creative work relies on the basic elements and principles of design: having a clean, simple relationship between materials, form, and function. Whether purely sculptural or functional he draws inspiration from the crude industrial age to the sleek mid-century modern designs while trying to express the natural attributes of his chosen medium.
James Viste
James Viste was raised on a farm in Wisconsin, received a Bachelor's degree from The University of Wisconsin, La Crosse; and a M.F.A. from Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, MI. He is a nationally known blacksmithing demonstrator and exhibitor and has participated in several national Ironwork Restoration Projects including Cranbrook Educational Community and the Detroit Institute of Arts. He has worked for studios throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin, New Mexico and Michigan. He is currently the Manager of Edgewise Forge L.L.C., Detroit, MI; and employed as an instructor/technician by the College for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI