AC Teacher Featured in LCVA Spotlight Exhibition
posted 6/17/10
Gallery runs from June 24 – August 6, 2010

ADRIAN, Mich. - Pottery by Bryan VanBenschoten is included in Lenawee Council for the Visual Arts (LCVA) Gallery’s first Spotlight Exhibition in its new gallery space at the Croswell Theatre, 129 E. Maumee Street, in downtown Adrian. 

VanBenschoten is an instructor in sculpture and ceramics and kiln coordinator in Adrian College’s Art and Design Department.  Lenawee Council for the Visual Arts member artists in this year’s exhibition were selected by the organization’s officers and board members.  Their work is on view June 24 through August 7.

The opening reception on Friday, June 25, 7:00 – 10:00 p.m., is free and open to the public.  LCVA Gallery is open during the Croswell’s business hours, when the box office is open (two hours before a production), and during performances. This exhibition will be open 9:00 – 5:00, Monday through Friday, and from 6:00 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 1:00 p.m. on Sundays through the theatre’s performances.  It closes at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, August 6.

VanBenschoten focuses on creating pottery that functions, while simultaneously finding the most aesthetic and innovative form for each piece. 

He explains, “The challenge is to synthesize form, function, and proportion and find creative solutions for each.  The farther out on this limb one ventures, the greater the possibility for the work to become aesthetically appealing. ”

His work is collected internationally, and he has gone as far as South Korea to demonstrate and teach workshops.  In addition, he shows in juried and invitational exhibitions nationally and locally.

After earning his art degree in ceramics at Alfred University in New York, VanBenschoten became Master Potter at The Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village in Dearborn.  He retired from the Henry Ford in 2009, after 29 years.

Also included in the exhibition are three other Lenawee County artists.  Anne Flora works primarily in felted wool fiber, making one-of-a-kind wall hangings as well as pieces of wearable art; Mary Gautz is a nature photographer who finds many of her subjects nearby; and Joan J. Larsen captures still lifes of fruit and flowers in printed paintings called monotypes. 

For additional information, please contact Adrian College art professor and secretary of LCVA, Catherine M. Royer at 517-265-2842 or via e-mail at croyer@adrian.edu .