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De Pree Gallery to Feature Works by Michael Ayrton
Posted January 7, 2003
HOLLAND -- An exhibition of works by the British
sculptor Michael Ayrton will open in the gallery of the De
Pree Art Center at Hope College on Monday, Jan. 13.
The public is invited. Admission is free.
The exhibition coincides with the publication of
the book "Myth and the Creative Process: Michael Ayrton and
the Myth of Daedalus," written by Dr. Jacob Nyenhuis of the
Hope College faculty and published by Wayne State University
Press. Nyenhuis retired in 2001 as provost and professor of
classics at Hope, and currently serves as director of the
college's A.C. Van Raalte Institute. He curated the
exhibition collaboratively with Dr. Jack Wilson, who is
former director of the De Pree gallery and professor
emeritus of art history.
The public is invited to the reception and the
lectures. Admission is free.
Ayrton, who lived from 1921 to 1975, began as a
painter in a group called the "Neo-Romantic" artists. In
the 1950s, Ayrton began to work increasingly in bronze
sculpture, owing in part to his association with Henry
Moore. He had over 70 solo exhibitions worldwide.
The exhibition at Hope focuses on Ayrton's
interest in Greek mythology. At the same time that he began
to work in sculpture, he visited Cumae in Greece. The
experience which fostered a longstanding fascination with
Greek myths, especially those surrounding the Minotaur, the
Labyrinth and the Labyrinth's creator, Daedalus. The
exhibition includes bronze and mixed-media sculptures,
prints, drawings, and paintings.
The exhibition continues through Friday, Feb. 7.
The De Pree Art Center is located on Columbia
Avenue at 12th Street. The regular gallery hours are Monday
through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from 1
p.m. to 5 p.m. The gallery is handicapped accessible.
Additional information may be obtained by calling the
department of art at (616) 395-7500.
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