Opening Reception: Look Here: CANCELLED

“Look Here,” an exhibit of artwork by Katie Ries, an associate professor of art at St. Norbert College in Wisconsin, will be displayed in Muskegon Community College’s Overbrook Gallery from March 16 – April 17.  An Opening Reception will be held on Monday, March 16, from 3:30pm – 5:00pm in the Overbrook lobby with Ries discussing her work at 4:00pm in the Overbrook Gallery.  Both events are free and open to the public.

An artist and educator who makes drawings, prints, objects, and events about environmentalism, Ries’s work invites viewers to use art and design as tools to explore their neighborhood and cities.  In “Look Here,” Ries introduces the Land Scouts, a program she created in 2010 to promote foundations of land stewardship to modern people.  Visitors to the gallery will have opportunities to participate in Land Scout activities.

“I am concerned about our modern lives: the resources they require, the lure of screens and ‘likes,’ and the sobering forecasts of climate change and an expanding global population,” explains Ries. “In response to these concerns, I make drawings, objects, and community events inviting viewers to engage in small, concrete steps toward environmental sustainability and community engagement.”

“My current body of work, ‘Plants to Know,’ draws from the visual language of baseball cards and seed packaging to highlight common plants. The plants included are good ones to know both for their ubiquity in our urban environment, and for their traditions of medicinal and culinary use. In learning the names and characteristics of these plants, I hope to turn viewers on to the wonders and complexities of our ecological interdependence.”

Ries graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a bachelor’s degree in studio art from Colorado College. She earned a MFA in Studio Art from the University of Tennessee. Her art, which can be found in private and public collections throughout the US, is available at The Overbrook Gallery.  Hours are 9:00am – 4:00pm Monday – Friday, with special weekend and evening hours during performances and concerts in the adjacent Overbrook Theater.  There is no admission fee.  Call (231) 777-0324 for more information.