All Things Grand Rapids

These are a few of the things that I really liked and appreciated this year, grouped by venue.

Gerald Ford Museum

This is just one of the pieces from Memory Fragments by Elizabeth Samet, who is a daughter of Holocaust survivors. It was powerful and poignant.

Fireflies: Seeking Calm in Chaos by Craig Merchant was beautifully placed into the landscape and symbolized nature's struggle to maintain balance and peace in the midst of human interference.

Timepiece by Betty Cottle hung inside the Shinola store.

One Last Sip by Kevin Vanek stood outside the Van Andel Arena and made a strong statement against fossil fuel consumption and production. "Memento Mori: the american way"

JW Marriott

These two items were clever and fun.

The Cracked Knot Clock by Tysen Andrews had all kinds of secret drawers and doors. He was also one of the few artists I spoke with because he didn't try to keep me there for 15 minutes 😊

Resplendence by Robert Anderson was a large scale kalediscope that needed the artist there to explain how to work it. But it was cool.

Grand Rapids African American Museum

Tired of Giving In by Nikki

and Heartfelt Wisdom by Chenel Joseph.

If you've never been in this museum, do yourself a favor and stop in.

Veterans Park was filled by art created by veterans.

This piece was from Seeking Clarity by Sarah Daniels.

The Morton House is a really old building and a unique venue. Wavelengths by Danielle Wyckoff was one of the distinctive entries here.

These very colorful works were displayed at

Periwinkle Fog, What Color Are You? by Patricia Deere,

Homewood Suites, Divine Arcana by Hannah Mable,

and the Lantern Tree by Emma Anderson at Arts Marketplace.

Monroe Community Church is known for its carefully curated display.

This is Community by Craig Paul Nowak

In Life and in Death by Nora Faber Overvoorde was a painting that contains living plants. It needs maintenance to keep it going.

Ephemerality by Danielle Mims was a striking piece of work.

This one was probably easily bypassed but amazing in its detail (Ottawa Fulton Parking Garage).

7 City Views by Amy Reckley

The B.O.B.

The Journey by David Strickland changes as you move past it.

Red Hot Blues by Deb

One piece from Still Something by Kelly Vander Klay

City Noir by Rick Boshoven

Kendall College of Art and Design

Marshmallow polypore variant by Samuelle Green was constructed from book pages.

Long Line of Women by Teresa Dunn

Counted-Uncounted by Paloma Nunez-Regueiro

DeVos Convention Center

Part of Legos by Samuel Gomez

I couldn't find the title or artist of this piece but I loved recognizing things from Meijer Gardens.

The next two items are from AllArtWorks on Sept. 20.

How to Hold the Sun by Anika Todd

Wallflowers, artist unknown, but I loved everything about it 😊

Uccellos

These are just two photos from Old Stories by H. Highwater. Each sculpture was exquisite and depicted a mythical character/story.

111 Lyon

Archway to heaven by Felipe Gomez and gBunny

David, the marionette who opened and closed ArtPrize, hung here resting.

Issue by Mark Esse sprung naturally from the ground in Sixth Street Park and is constructed of steel rods that used to hold a water tower together.

Crescent Park was a great setting for Neon Oasis by Edgar Hernandez.

And finally, Reflective Journey by Shiring Abedinirad was placed in Lookout Park.

There are ten videos I made and put on tiktok on various entries that you can find @hjvanny. Otherwise, we'll see you next year, ArtPrize!

It started out with flooding, and the weather was a mixed bag (it's winter in Michigan, after all) but it was a fun two months and brought a lot of people downtown, day and night.