New Giverny, Pamela DayThe Michigan Watercolor Society was founded in 1946 by an enthusiastic group of young artists who envisioned an organization to promote the awareness of watercolor in Michigan. Their aim was to further watercolor education, maintain high standards artistically, while based on the premise of integrity and professionalism, and to be a forum open to all points of view.
A committee of working artists met for months, often lasting late into the evening, to form the policies and a constitution to present to a group of exhibiting painters in our state. Their emphasis on self-discovery and personal content, rather than technique alone, produced the painters who kept the MWCS alive.
The mission of the MWCS is to promote a stronger awareness and interest in watercolor; the advancement of the watercolor media as an art form, through presentation, workshops, juried shows and artist networking; to maintain high standards; and to further education in the contemporary arts.
This exhibition features the thirty award winning watercolor paintings from the Michigan Watercolor Society’s 72nd Annual Exhibition. Juror, Chris Krupinski, made exhibition choices based on a variety of considerations. He chose pieces with a broad selection of subject matter, genre and approach, as well as successful composition and design elements, and those that convey strong personal expressions of one kind or another.
The Berkowitz gallery is pleased to share these remarkable watercolor paintings with the UM Dearborn campus and greater community!
Opening Reception
Thursday, October 10, 2019 5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Event is free to the public. Complimentary wine and hors d'oeuvres provided.
The Stamelos Gallery Center is located on the first floor of the Mardigian Library at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. For more information, see below for contact information. Anyone requiring accommodations under the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act should contact lacotton@umich.edu.
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
