The exhibition, "Through a Glass Clearly: The Art of John Vander Burgh," will continue through Sunday, Sept. 18. There will be a reception on Friday, Sept. 9, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The public is invited to both the exhibition and the reception. Admission is free.

This event is the first monographic exhibition of work by Vander Burgh, who was born in 1916 and died on March 31, 2004. He attended the Royal Academy of Arts in the Hague from 1935 to 1937, and immigrated to the United States in 1951. He worked at first at the Grand Rapids Art Glass Company, and then set up his own art studio in Zeeland in 1957.

His professional career, spanning five decades, has left behind an enormous legacy of windows in more than 100 buildings, mostly in Western Michigan. In addition to windows, he created hundreds of commemorative and decorative pieces, now in collections as far away as New York City and Tokyo. Vander Burgh's style shifted between the more traditional medievalizing tendency of the Arts and Crafts movement of the 19th century, and the modern tendencies of the mid-20th century.

In the exhibition, the gallery will be presenting original stained glass works, as well as Vander Burgh's own working and presentation drawings. The exhibition has been curated by John Hanson, director of the De Pree gallery, with the assistance of Chris Spencer, Trustee of the John and Swany Vander Burgh Trust. During the reception, Spencer will give an address focused on Vander Burgh's life.

The De Pree Art Center is located on Columbia Avenue at 12th Street. From Monday, Aug. 22, through Monday, Aug. 29, the gallery will be open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Beginning Tuesday, Aug. 30, the gallery will be open Sundays and Mondays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.; Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.; and Thursdays from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m. The gallery is handicapped accessible. 

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