2024 - 2025 University Art Gallery Exhibition Schedule

FALL 2024

John Chavers: Recently Seen: When No One Else Was Looking
August 12 – September 14
          Reception and Welcome Back Party: September 5^th, 4 - 6 p.m.

John Chavers is a US-based visual artist and photographer currently working with digital images. His artistic practice stems from experimental engagement with everyday computer technology and the reinterpretation and manipulation of common objects and scenes. The Images derive from a series photographed while the artist was in Iceland. They represent captured moments, almost completely devoid of people, and go beyond the natural wonders of the country, giving instead a glimpse into what else was there; what else was to be noticed and experienced; images that allow the viewer to step into the perspective and question “Where is that?”.

20th Annual MFSM Saints and Sinners Invitational
September 18 – September 27
           Saints and Sinners Invitational ending on September 27 in a ticketed Gala.

This exhibition features artwork by regional artists invited by the Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum to exhibit and donate work to support the Museum's annual fundraising gala on September 27th, which includes a silent and live auction.  Tickets for the Gala are available for purchase by calling the Museum at 989-964-7125.

SVSU Ceramic Alumni and Friends Exhibition
October 7 – November 8
           Reception: October 31^st, 4 – 6 p.m.

The ceramics program at SVSU within the Department of Art has graduated many artists that have continued the practice of working with clay as their main artistic medium. For this homecoming season BFA majors concentrating in Ceramics have been invited back to revisit their roots, reconnect, and foster new clay connections. As the field has changed, they have grown and found additional mentor-ships outside of the university. They’ve come home to share what they’ve learned. This exhibition will showcase how they’ve grown and developed their working practices since earning their degrees. Featured artists include: Kassie Smith '13, Robert Rokita '96, Emily Davis '23, Billy Haboush '18, Adam Stuart '15, Penny Knapp '02, Sean Gallagher '97, Kari Young '08, Becca Watz '02, and Alyssa Cozad '16.

Fall BFA Exhibition
November 18 – December 13
           Reception: December 5^th, 4 - 6 p.m.      

This exhibition features artwork by the Bachelor of Fine Arts candidates and serves as a completion of their undergraduate program. Exhibiting students include candidates in the disciplines of printmaking and painting. The planning, publicity, installing, and reception are all coordinated by the students as part of their course work.

 WINTER 2025

20^th Annual Juried Art Student Exhibition
January 8 – February 1
          Reception: January 16^th, 4 – 6 p.m.,    Awards at 5 p.m.

This exhibition will include the work of SVSU art students from all art programs and standing, created during the past year and will include multiple disciplines taught within the art curriculum including photography, painting, drawing, ceramics, sculpture, and three-dimensional design. Students can download the application from the university art gallery website.

SVSU Faculty Show
February 10 – February 28
          Reception/Lecture February 27^th, 4 – 6 p.m.

This exhibition features the work of SVSU art faculty and adjunct art instructors working in a diverse range of media during the current fiscal school year. 

Russell Prather: Lost in Space
March 10 - April 5
          Lecture/ Reception March 20^th, 3 p.m. and 4 – 6 p.m.

Russell Prather, born and raised in the Canadian Rockies and now based in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, makes work that interrogates the material and metaphorical nature of transparent, painted, and layered surfaces. His pieces, hanging from the ceiling or rising up from the floor, are visually volatile; aiming to confound categorization—as whole or fragmentary, spatial or temporal, abstract or concrete, even as painting or sculpture—they seek liberating forms of contradiction, complexity, and uncertainty.

Winter BFA/Art 480 Exhibition
April 14 – May 2
          Reception April 24^th, 4 - 6 p.m.

This exhibition features artwork by the Bachelor of Fine Arts candidates and serves as a completion of their undergraduate program. Exhibiting students include candidates in one of the art department disciplines. During the winter semester, if there are not BFA candidates the Art 480 art degree capstone course organizes and exhibits in an exhibition of their own design.

SPRING SUMMER 2025

Department Collection 
May 12 – June 27 

This exhibit will feature a selection of works from the collection of art acquired by the SVSU Art Department over the past 30 years. It includes work from various artists who have exhibited in the University Art Gallery.   

OLLI: Member Show
July 7 – August 8 

OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) is celebrating its 25^th Anniversary at SVSU by highlighting the talent of its artistic members. Join the University Art Department as it hosts a diverse array of artwork created by some of the creative members, highlighting their unique skills and artistic expressions.