Exhibition
Staff Explorer Pass | Guided Tour: Frames of Reference, Past and Present: Selected Works by Anita Bates
Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, 1:00pm - 2:30pm
Stamelos Gallery Center
About the Event
The Art Collections and Exhibitions Department for the UM-Dearborn campus is proud to offer a special VIP tour given by renowned artist Anita Bates of her exhibition, "Frames of Reference, Past and Present: Selected Works By Anita Bates."After the exhibition tour given by the artist, there will be a brief, informal tour led by Curator, Laura Cotton, sharing information about some of the permanent collection pieces on display inside the library.
This event is free and available to all staff members from any of the three UM campuses. It will take place inside the Stamelos Gallery Center, on the first floor of the Mardigian Library, UM- Dearborn, 4901 Evergreen Rd., Dearborn. Free parking is available in the large lot across from the library. There are only 30 spots available for this free tour. Please register before the tour.
This program is part of the Michigan Arts Festival Staff Explorer Pass. In partnership with Voices of the Staff, the U-M Arts Initiative is offering limited complimentary tickets for select campus events and extra special experiences for U-M staff members all throughout October!
About the Exhibition
exhibition titleFrames of Reference, Past and Present: Selected Works by Anita Bates
Thursday, Sep. 03, 2026 - Sunday, Dec. 13, 2026
This exhibition explores my aesthetic choices over the last 20 plus years. Not truly a retrospective because the scope is limited, the work is more of a survey; selected paintings which represent the various bodies of work undertaken over more than two decades.
Our experiences help us construct meaning, respond to others and define our cultural frame of reference. Similarly, the artist impacts their audience through the construction of images based on their connections, sensibilities and experiences. This is what I term as an aesthetic frame of reference, hence the title of this exhibition.
The works from 2020 through 2026 are heavily influenced by my childhood; exposure to the aesthetic choices made by a father who was an eccentric and complicated person, unable to fully be himself and thus, chose to transform our living spaces to communicate his vision of the world.
The paintings from 2003 to 2014 explore abstraction of the landscape; translating the physical attributes of land (and sky) as if I were zooming in on a particular surface or what a cross section of a surface might look like. As well, they highlight use of disparate materials and chemicals to create visually textured surfaces.
As the viewer, I ask you to take in my work with the understanding that while the genre of abstraction depends a great deal on spontaneity, this does not necessarily mean the act of creating is a thoughtless endeavor, where visual aesthetics are ruled by happenstance.
— Anita Bates PhD, MFA
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.
Featured University Art Collection Piece
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
Contact Us
- Stamelos Gallery Center
- 1st Floor, Mardigian Library, UM-Dearborn
- 4901 Evergreen Road, Dearborn, MI 48128
- Directions
- Laura Cotton
- Art Curator and Gallery Manager
- 313-593-5087
- lacotton@umich.edu
- Autumn Muir
- Registrar and Gallery Assistant
- 313-593-3592
- aumuir@umich.edu
