God is in the Details

Gone by Isabella Kirkland, 2004.

Influenced by the exacting reality of the Dutch Still-life, artist Isabella Kirkland studies the plants and animals she depicts in her detailed artwork. In Gone, she shows us species lost to man's expansion through colonization by both hunting and our tendency toward being oblivious to everything but ourselves. 

Site Specific

Ahuja Azure, Cirtron and Amber Persian Wall by Dale Chihuly, 2010, The University Hospitals' Ahuja Medical Center, Beachwood, OH

Dale Chihuly is the most famous glass artist in the world. Since the later part of the 20th century, his installations have been gaining in popularity and recognition.

Chihuly himself no longer blows the glass in his pieces, but he conceives and designs them and oversees their installation.

Saving The Past for the Future

St. Hedwig by Joseph Felix Męcina-Krzesz, 1914, Location of Original Unknown.

The Museum of Divine Statues in Lakewood, OH is housed in the old St. Hedwig Catholic Church and this lithograph image of the Saint for whom it is named was gifted to the museum. The museum features rescued and restored Catholic religious statuary from many of the churches in the area that have been closed in the last few years. It also has a fine collection of stained glass, as well as, furnishings, fixtures, and other artwork from many area churches. 

New York Times Article

Museum Twitter: @modscle

Museum Pinterest

Private Gifts Turned Public Treasures

Imperial Peter the Great Easter Egg by the Fabergé firm, 1903,

By the Russian jewler Peter Carl Faberge. This egg was made by his shop in 1903 for presentation from Tsar Nicholas III to Tsarina Alexandra in commemoration of 200th anniversary of the founding of St. Petersburg by Peter the Great. The royal tradition of  gifting elaborate Easter eggs began with Tsar Alexander III, and continued until the revolution in 1917.

Interactive Art

 These photos are from the Nick Cave exhibition in 2015 HereHear at the Cranbrook Art Museum

The show has featured interactive happenings throughout the metro Detroit area and there are still a couple of events coming up. You can check the Cranbrook museum website for more information.

A Grand Collection

My family was fortunate to have another trip to Michigan's Mackinac Island again this year. We stayed at the Grand Hotel, whose legendary front porch and beautiful surroundings are a treat unto themselves. I wandered into the gallery area in the main Parlor which exhibits paintings from the world renowned Manoogian Collection. The Manoogians have exhibited over 400 paintings from their collection at the hotel for the past 25 years. Here is a sample of some of the pieces on display this summer.

Fairy Hordes Attacking a Bat, John Fitzgerald, British, 1832-1906

Fairy Hordes Attacking a Bat, John Fitzgerald, British, 1832-1906

The works on display include 19th and 20th century examples of many different types of painting genres and by a large collection of artists.

Rabbits, 1878 by Charlotte Mount Brock Schreiber, Canadian, 1834-1922

Rabbits, 1878 by Charlotte Mount Brock Schreiber, Canadian, 1834-1922

The George R. Rich Family Having Afternoon Coffee at the Villa Quisisana Overlooking Oresund, Skodsborg, Strandvej (Denmark), 1885 by Wenzel Ulrik Tornoe, Danish, 1844-1907

The George R. Rich Family Having Afternoon Coffee at the Villa Quisisana Overlooking Oresund, Skodsborg, Strandvej (Denmark), 1885 by Wenzel Ulrik Tornoe, Danish, 1844-1907

A Liberated Woman by John G. Brown, American, 1831-1913.

A Liberated Woman by John G. Brown, American, 1831-1913.

My assumption is that the cigarette and the way she looks down at the viewer indicate her liberated status.

Statue of Liberty Celebration by Frederick Rondel, American, 1826-1892.

Statue of Liberty Celebration by Frederick Rondel, American, 1826-1892.

This is just a small sample of the artwork on display, there are many fine examples of portraiture, tromp l'oeil, landscapes, still lifes, etc.  The art on display makes an already worthwhile trip all the more special.