"Coming Home" exhibition shared at UICA now through February

This season at the Urban Institute for Contemporary Art (UICA), a series called "Coming Home" features a diverse group of Michigan artists focusing on exploratory development, comings and goings, seasonal changes and the importance of Michigan in creativity and inspiration throughout these themes. After ArtPrize and much attention from all over the country and world, the exhibit will focus on local artists and concepts in order for the "Coming Home" effect to take place. The exhibition began late October and will feature different parts of the series until the end of February.

"Coming Home" opened with a collective of 20 contributing Michigan artists in their works for "Macabre." This portion of the series focused on Halloween and Día de Muertos, with imagery through each unique piece in this theme. "Macabre" closed on November 29.

Also featured through November was artist Xiaolong Fang’s printmaking and papermaking series, portraying urban culture as it currently stands. Fang uses the basics of printmaking and different mediums such as hair, as it has DNA unique to each person, to show the decay and expansion of different urban cultures around the world.

Former executive director at UICA, Sandra Wilcoxon, created a series tying in themes of macabre as well as memento-mori. Her work, entitled "Embellished Bones," uses animal bone mediums. Wilcoxon honors the spirits of the animals used in her creations, decorating them elegantly as part of reflections on life and death. Her pieces will be on display until January 17.

Grand Rapids local artist, Jacob Wiseheart, brings an abstract flair to the thematic exhibit through his paintings. The paintings combine conceptual and figurative processes with classical landscapes. His works will remain in the exhibition until January 17 as well.

One of the more recent additions to "Coming Home" is Lisa Walcott’s "Living with Myself," featured until February 7. Her spirited contribution brings emotion and reflection into the themes with fresh perspective.

“Eventually the absurd attempt to manifest shapeless experience or formless sensations will fail, but something energetic and visual remains,” Walcott states of her piece.

The latest and final installment of "Coming Home" is currently on display until February 28. Jerry Gretzinger’s colorful series integrates collages of realistic maps transformed into imaginary. His works combine mediums of colored pencil, ink and acrylic marker with strategy and creativity.

Each Michigan based artist contributes unique perspective to the entire collective of the "Coming Home" exhibit. As the seasons change throughout the exhibit, each artwork also portrays the seasons and development of local creativity and exploration through Michigan as a platform of art culture and development.