New exhibits open Friday at Grunwald Gallery of Art

Small is Big

Artist talks for the new “Small is Big” exhibit in the Grunwald Gallery of Art begin today.

Tim Kennedy will give a lecture at 5 p.m. today at McCalla School 102.

This week the four other artists exhibited will also give lectures.
 
The week will conclude with a panel discussion from 2 to 4 p.m. and an opening reception at 6 p.m. Friday in the Grunwald Gallery.

Betsy Stirratt, director of the gallery, said the small scale of the paintings makes them more intimate.

“You’re larger than the paintings are,” Stirratt said. “You have to go into the space and view them rather than being overwhelmed by the image.

The exhibit was organized by Kennedy, a senior lecturer in the School of Fine Arts.
Paintings in the exhibit vary from landscapes to abstract pieces.
 
Lectures will include Catherine Kehoe at 5 p.m. Wednesday in Theater and Drama A201, EM Saniga at 5 p.m. Thursday in Woodburn 101 and Ken Kewley at 1 p.m. Friday in Woodburn 101.

Buzz Spector: Off the Shelf

About 10,000 books arrived at the Grunwald on Monday for Grunwald Gallery’s new exhibit “Buzz Spector: Off the Shelf.”

Buzz Spector, founder of the critical writing review publication “White Walls,” makes art about books and texts.

He will give a talk at 5 p.m. Friday in the gallery before the exhibit’s opening reception.

Stirratt said she has been working on the project for several years.

“I met him and decided that it would be a good thing for us to have an exhibit of his work here,” Stirratt said. “It will include some polaroid prints and some book installations.”

Spector will work in the gallery this week to prepare his exhibit.

The installation “The Library of Babel” alone includes 4,500 books, all borrowed from IU libraries.

On Oct. 24, a panel discussion titled “Books, Text and Information” will discuss the future of books.

Panel members will include Ron Day, professor of library and information science, and Bret Rothstein, associate professor of art history.

“As you know, we are all getting away from books into electronic texts,” Stirratt said. “I think this is an interesting way to look at books from a different perspective.”

- Kate Thacker