Mill Art Features K Professor

Glass sculptures at Western Michigan University’s Richmond Center for Visual ArtsAssociate Professor of Art Sarah Lindley has an exhibition with her husband, Norwood Viviano, opening this month at Western Michigan University’s Richmond Center for Visual Arts. The show, set for April 25 to May 23, will explore the way industry affects communities and the environment.

Lindley’s sculptures, made from clay and handmade paper, deal with abandoned paper mills in Allegan County and their impact on the Kalamazoo River. She and Viviano became interested in the mills after moving to Plainwell, where they have a home studio. Viviano commutes from there to his job as an associate professor of art and design at Grand Valley State University, in the Grand Rapids area.

Viviano will display glass sculptures modeled after abandoned Detroit factories and their surrounding landscapes and may exhibit drawings from a piece in last year’s Art Prize competition in Grand Rapids. The two artists also plan to exhibit at least one collaborative piece that was in the 2011 Art Prize contest.

Richmond Center gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and noon to 6 p.m. Saturday in April and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday in May.

Works for the exhibition were created with support from the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo KADI grant,  the Great Lakes Colleges Association New Directions Grant, the John Michael Kohler Center Arts-Industry program and/or the Peter S. Reed Foundation.