Spring is rapidly turning to summer, which is why the new Jump! show at the Gutman Gallery is so well timed. The mixed media exhibition had its opening reception during the warm part of Friday evening where the cloudless baby blue sky was just starting to turn golden as the sun really, really took its time to set, and they’ll be in the back room of the space until June 27.
The whole point of this show straddling the boundary between spring and summer is, in the words of Executive Director Karen Delhey, to celebrate “the leaps of faith, and the creative leaps that artists take.” The name for the show came about because “we were playing with the idea of spring, and jumping into new beginnings, because so many of our artists do that.”
The show is very much a Gutman show. The gallery, which is in a two story storefront across Fourth Avenue from the court house, run by the Guild of Artists and Artisans, is all about getting fine artists out in the community and to be recognized no matter what style, subject matter or phase of life you’re in. They take pride in producing an eclectic artistic atmosphere, making their Jump!!! show a perfect fit.
Kathy Kopald, an artist whose Spread Your Wings painting treads along the dividing line between abstract and landscape, said, “I actually did this piece last year, and when I read the prompt for this exhibition, this painting immediately came to mind. It feels like it really embodies what the call is, so I submitted it as one of the works to being featured, and it ended up being accepted.”
You can find everything from photography to acrylic on canvas among the 21 pieces. Viewing the art is free for anyone needing to take a break and soak in some contemporary art. Not all of the pieces are for sale, but many are, ranging from the high two digits to the very low thousands.
This show was curated by the Guild staff according to Gallery Director Meredith Long. In addition to getting artist exposure to a wide audience, Long believes it helps artists stay creative.
“I can reference back to Covid when we had to shut down right away. We continuously put out new ideas for artists, and that kept them inspired,” Long said. “So, I feel that with every exhibition we have a theme, and we try to keep that alive, and that helps them in keeping their creative juices flowing, coming up with new ideas, and new prompts to do new work.”
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One piece even sold while I was busy interviewing someone else. Julie Silver got two mixed media ceramic pieces made, Happy Spring No. 1 and Happy Spring No. 2 by Amy Roehrig.
Silver said it was “the mixed media and the ceramics” that caught her eye. She added “They’re very reasonably priced. I actually told her she underpriced those…. I love them. They’re fabulous.”
The Guild isn’t just a place where you can find art on offer or get exposed as an artist. It is a place where artists at any stage of their career can collaborate, get exposure, and be encouraged to do more.
“I’ve just started adding other media into the ceramics, so this is the first iteration in adding another media,” Roehrig said. Having started out a strictly ceramic artist, she now has the experience and inspiration to start experimenting with other mediums, but clarified that she will always be a ceramic based artist first and foremost. “I took a ceramics class when I was ten. That was fun – didn’t do it again until I was 60-something, after I retired. It took me a long time to let go… I’m very concrete… So it took me a long time to say ‘just go for it’ and that’s sort of where I placed my beginning, maybe five years ago.”
The Gutman Gallery is at 118 North Fourth Avenue. They’re open from 11am to 5pm, Wednesdays through Sundays.
Drew Saunders is a freelance business and environmental journalist who grew up just outside of Ann Arbor. He covers local business developments, embraces his foodie side with reviews restaurants, obsesses over Michigan's environmental state, loves movies, and feels spoiled by the music he gets to review for Ann Arbor!
