Press: “New Exhibitions On View at UICA: Impulsive/Decisive and Coming Home” in the Rapidian
June 17, 2022
“New Exhibitions On View at UICA: Impulsive/Decisive and Coming Home”
THE RAPIDIAN
JUNE 17TH, 2022
The article can be viewed on the Rapidian’s website here: https://therapidian.org/new-exhibitions-view-uica-impulsivedecisive-works-oneill-collection-and-coming-home
The Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts (UICA) is proud to present two new exhibitions, Impulsive/Decisive: Works from the O’Neill Collection and Coming Home, now on view through August 13, 2022. Admission to the galleries at UICA is free and open to the public Tuesday through Saturday from 12-5pm and Thursday 12-7pm.
Impulsive/Decisive showcases the living collection of John O’Neill, Principal/Creative Director of Conduit, a Grand Rapids-based design studio. O’Neill, a local arts advocate, has been gathering objects since childhood but shifted to art collecting while attending Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University. As a result, the works in O’Neill’s collection have been acquired with an intuitive clarity, gathering focus over time.
The collection features more than 50 works by 38 local, national, and international artists, including Andy Warhol, Carson Davis Brown, Tom Bianchi, and others. Within the exhibition, elements of beauty, design, color, and queer male culture intertwine with painting, photography, sculpture, and typography, creating opportunities for new narratives and connections to occur.
“The works within Impulsive/Decisive are an extension of John’s vision and identity,” said UICA Director of Curatorial Michele Bosak. “Displaying these works publicly results in a level of vulnerability inherent to showing one’s collection and prompts an impulse to recognize our shared intimacies, experiences, and memories.”
Additionally, the show highlights a small assortment of mementos that usually adorn the shelves of O’Neill’s studio and home, including furniture miniatures from the Vitra Design Museum and a Saint Laurent show album, which can be heard playing throughout the galleries. A selection of essays and catalogs written about some of the artists are also on display for visitors to browse.
In collaboration with O’Neill, UICA will produce an exhibition catalog for Impulsive/Decisive with copies available for purchase at shopUICA later this summer.
On view alongside Impulsive/Decisive is Coming Home, a dynamic group show featuring nine emerging and established artists with a connection to Michigan. The exhibition celebrates Michigan’s role as a platform for inspiration, exploration, and creative development by highlighting a diverse selection of working artists, including Guillermo Sotelo, Joshua Skinner, Anna van Schaap, and more.
Works within Coming Home connect themes of structural landscapes, solitude, and solace across a variety of mediums such as painting, photography, sculpture, and mixed media. Selected works from the exhibition are for sale and available to take home after the show concludes on August 13.
For more information on current exhibitions and gallery hours, please visit uica.org.
Artists Represented in Impulsive/Decisive
Adam Chuck, Allison Long Hardy, Andy Warhol, Armin Hofmann, Brandt Brinkerhoff and Katherine Walker, Brian Thomas McQueen, Carson Davis Brown, Christy DeHoog, Chuck Anderson, Cornel Windlin, Daniel Marin Medina, Harry Anderson, Hedi Slimane, Jason Murray, Jeremy Chandler, Jerrad Matthew , Jessica Joy, Joey Ruiter, Karlo Martinez, Kelly Allen, Krista Connerly, Mandy Cano Villalobos, Marjan Lulgjuraj, Mark Shepard, Martin Venezky, Matthew Schenk, Meridith Ridl, Michael Schaeffer, Michael-Birch Pierce, Saul Gray-Hildenbrand, Stuart Sandford, Tim Carpenter, Tom Bianchi, Tommy Allen, Troy Michie, Wolfgang Weingart, and Yinka Shonibare.
Artists Represented in Coming Home
Caitlyn Brandt (Hudsonville, MI), Jordan Buschur (Maumee, OH), Lee Kang (Holland, MI), Whitney Sage (Naperville, IL), Joshua Skinner (Grand Rapids, MI), Guillermo Sotelo (Kalamazoo, MI), Jason Starin (Grand Rapids, MI), Jamari Taylor (Grand Rapids, MI), and Anna van Schaap (Detroit, MI).