Grunwald Gallery exhibits feature international art

Local residents can now experience artwork from as near as Bloomington to as far as Japan.

The Grunwald Gallery of Art began showing two new exhibits in its gallery Aug. 30., and they will be featured through Oct. 11.

“Geist und Form: Ten Painters from Berlin” showcases the work of modern German artists and their unusual interpretations of the various painting styles practiced in Berlin today.

Artists that are featured in this installation include Valérie Favre, Bernard Frize, Maarten Janssen and Mark Lammert.

The exhibit, curated by Jurriaan Benschop, reflects the present-day attitudes of Berlin painting, according to geistundform.com.

In conjunction with the exhibit, several lecturers will speak, including Favre, Lammert and Benschop.

Encompassing more of an international artistic scope is the exhibit “Imag(in)ing Science,” which features collaborative pieces between IU faculty in the arts and science departments.

Amanda Fong, who works as a public relations assistant at the Grunwald, said there are a number of pieces within this exhibit she thinks students will find particularly moving.

One project, created by Michael Hamburger, geological sciences professor, and James Nakagawa, associate professor of photography, was inspired by the earthquakes in Japan.

The piece features multiple photos of the destruction caused by the earthquake and a projection of a live seismograph that reads the vibrations within the Grunwald.

“If anyone has family in Japan, that one will really strike a chord,” Fong said. “It’s really amazing.”

Fong said these venues, which appear very different on paper, work well together and will provide visitors with a one-of-a-kind experience the Grunwald has never really offered before.

“It’s nice to see the variance,” she said. “They’re very different shows, and they’re really thought-provoking.”

Follow arts editor Carolyn Crowcroft on Twitter @carol_crowcroft.