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.
Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000), Serigraph print, 1974
Gift of Gilbert M. Frimet,
Collection of UM-Dearborn (1980.065)
Photographed by Tim Thayer
This powerful serigraph print from the permanent collection was created by Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000), one of this century's most widely acclaimed artists.
Lawrence was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey, but moved to Harlem, New York, at 13. He is among the few painters of his generation who grew up in a Black community, received instruction primarily from Black artists, and was influenced by the experiences of Black individuals.
Lawrence's artwork portrays the lives and struggles of the Black community, capturing their experiences through several series focused on figures such as Toussaint L'Ouverture, Frederick Douglass, and Harriet Tubman, as well as themes related to life in Harlem and the civil rights movement of the 1960s. His style is characterized by vibrant colors and abstract forms.
In the 1940s, during a time of widespread segregation, Lawrence broke racial barriers by becoming the first Black artist whose work was acquired by the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
He stated, "If at times my productions do not express the conventionally beautiful, there is always an effort to express the universal beauty of man's continuous struggle to lift his social position and to add dimension to his spiritual being."
Researched and written by:
Julianna Collins, Stamelos Gallery Center former intern, UM-Dearborn art history/museum studies graduate, Class of 2025
