Posted by vrcvanderbilt on Tuesday, April 30, 2013 in Fine Arts Gallery, HART, Student/Alumni, VRC.

This summer the Vanderbilt Fine Arts Gallery will host a special exhibition of Tapestry Suite by Creighton Michael, M.A. 1976, on view through Sunday, October 6, in the rear gallery space of Cohen Memorial Hall. Seven digital drawings, selected from Michael’s larger Tapestry series, were created by the artist in honor of Milan Mihal, professor of fine arts emeritus, and donated to the Fine Arts Gallery by the artist.

Michael expressed his gratitude to Mihal for introducing him to “the wondrous beauty and serene sensitivity of the Far East.” He also cites his experiences in Mihal’s class as an influence for much of his artistic practice over the past forty years.

Michael explained that the Tapestry series is a collection of composite drawings, layered in time and personal marking history, employing unconventional drafting tools, such as photographic negatives, video stills, sculpture, digital scans and intaglio solar plates. The artist selected the seven works featured in Tapestry Suite as a continuous narrative and a meditation on drawing. This is a common theme for Michael who, in much of his work, has expanded traditional notions of drawing by creating works of art that approach this time-honored practice in fresh, innovative ways.

Michael received his B.F.A. in painting from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (1971); his M.A. in Art History from Vanderbilt University (1976); and his M.F.A. in painting and multi-media from Washington University, Saint Louis, MO (1978). His work has been featured in numerous one-person exhibitions and can be found within the collections of The Brooklyn Museum; Denver Art Museum; Hafnarborg Institute of Culture and Fine Art, Hafnarfjördur, Iceland; High Museum of Art, Atlanta; Mint Museums of Art, Charlotte, NC, among others.

Michael’s drawings will take on special significance during Vanderbilt’s Homecoming/Reunion Weekend, October 4-6. Visitors should note that the Fine Arts Gallery will be closed September 13-26 for the installation of the fall exhibit that will address the theme of art and the liberal arts’ imagination.

*Creighton Michael (American, born 1949)
Tapestry 3410, 2012
Archival carbon black pigment inkjet print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Paper