Guest curator and collector Corey Gross has spent his life amassing a substantial and impressive collection of comic books dating from the 1960s to present day. He proudly owns almost every Iron Man issue ever created. The exhibition features the best of Mr. Gross's remarkable collection and focuses on the idea of the printed comic book cover as an art object. The exhibition displays around 250 comic books that showcase themes prevalent throughout the history of the art form including a large selection of Iron Man comics that illustrate the evolution of comics over the last fifty years.
The exhibition also features several pieces of original artwork, on loan courtesy of Western Michigan University Art Collection, that were used to print comic book covers, and that provide viewers with a greater understanding of how comic books are produced.
Opening Reception
Thursday, January 18, 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Professional comic book artist Jerzy Drozd will begin speaking at 6:00 p.m.
Reception is free to the public. Complimentary wine and hors d’oeuvres provided.
Comic Book Making Workshop
Thursday, March 15, 5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Dearborn Gallery Rally
Saturday, April 7, 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Come view the exhibition again on its closing day and see professional comic book artist Dave Acosta demonstrate comic book, super hero drawings! Event is free to the public.
Dave Acosta is a Comic Book and Storyboard artist living in southeastern Michigan. He earned his BA in English Literature from the University of Michigan-Dearborn. Dave has drawn for companies such as Dynamite Comics, Skybound Entertainment, and Disney Digital.
The Alfred Berkowitz Gallery is located on the third floor of the Mardigian Library at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. For further information, see below for contact information. Anyone requiring accommodations under the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act should contact (313)-593-5087.
Taketori Tale,
Kyohei Fujita (b. 1921),
n.d.,
Mold blown glass with gold and silver foil inclusions
Gift of Richard and Louise Abrahams,
Collection of UM-Dearborn (Adp39),
Photograph by Kip Kriigel
World renowned artist Kyohei Fujita was born in Japan in 1921. He is known as the father of Japanese studio glass. Many of his works, including this one, were inspired by early Japanese boxes that were richly decorated with lacquerwork and mother-of-pearl inlays, and traditionally used to store Buddhist writings, jewelry, inkstones and brushes. Fujita's celebrated ornamental glass boxes revive conventional Japanese aesthetics in a contemporary form. This breathtaking piece was mold blown with gold and silver foil inclusions. Whenever asked by collectors what to keep in the boxes, the artist usually stated "You should put your dreams in them."
---Laura Cotton, Art Curator and Gallery Manager
