If there’s one thing these past couple years have taught us is to quickly adapt when the unexpected occurs. For Aaron Timlin and detroit contemporary, April’s scheduled exhibitor withdrew at the last minute leaving the gallery idling. In a flash of inspiration, Timlin launched an in person call for art. Anyone from the Detroit area could bring in 3 pieces of their work on April 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, install it themselves and would remain on view for the balance of the month. Participating artists will be considered by an anonymous jury for a solo exhibition in 2023.
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It was a chancy proposal. Timlin built it, but would they come? Did they ever. The call resulted in 49 artists exhibiting works in all mediums installed from floor to ceiling in the detroit contemporary galleries. The artists range from emerging to retired university professors. Friends invited friends. There’s a 91 year old painter who’s never shown anywhere whose kids secretly delivered pieces and are waiting for the reveal when they bring him to the opening reception and point out his work hanging on the wall. [See image in this article of Paul Farr's painting "The Dance"]. Half of the artists that showed up Timlin had never met before and a quarter had never been to detroit contemporary. The excitement over this unique call played out like an Art Black Friday with folks lined up to storm the store for their piece of wall and a shot at a solo show.
Now fully installed, entrance into the gallery is met with a visual shockwave of color, texture and imagery. The art is felted, painted, quilted. There’s sculpture, mosaic, photography and ceramics. Genres range from abstraction to realism. A massive multi-disciplinary piece claims a wall alone. Work so small a viewer has to get right up on it to discern its subject. The work hangs from doorways or draped on a clothes rack. Every inch of every wall is covered with something someone made with passion and care. What’s incredible is it all fits together. Not solely as random pieces in an art show jigsaw puzzle, but with imagination and spirit. In the chaos is rhythm and purpose. Some arrangements even look curated with color and technique complementing each other. The energy is palpable.
The Detroit art community is vast with a wide range of viewpoints and styles of communication. A good portion of these makers rarely or never exhibit for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the intimidating nature of submitting to shows. Timlin erased that reservation by redefining the platform an artist can have their work considered. The surprise byproduct of this engagement is a displayed microcosm of Detroit’s art population that is far more diverse than what’s generally seen in frequented galleries. This collection of artists is a representation of Detroit itself, declaring themselves in all manner of mediums creating a optical circus that’s a blast to immerse into.
Detroit was a crumbling city that hit rock bottom when it filed bankruptcy. Abandoned factories that once rolled out four-wheeled Detroit muscle hosted tourists eager to experience a modern-day archeological excavation of a storied city buried in its own decay. But Detroiters know how to grind. We literally rose from the ashes to stage one of the greatest comebacks of all time. This is who we are. We don’t quit. We stay, we work, we thrive. We show up for one another. This salon is a cross pollination of a community, singing in different keys and tempos but blending together into one voice.
This impromptu exhibition didn’t just take a call for art to another level, it generated an opportunity to view the character, heart and essence of our entire community in one place at the same time. Out of a scramble to fill a vacancy in a gallery’s exhibition schedule emerged a spontaneous area-wide collaboration prompting a new way to call for and review art. Click here for a list of participating artists
Kim Fay has been a working abstract painter for three decades. Her abstractions are included in private collections from auto racing mogul Roger Penske to musical artist Kem. Fay made her curatorial mark through her company, Reel Art Detroit, which provided local art to Hollywood sets including productions from ABC, Warner Bros, Mitch Albom and more. This translated to curating Beaumont Arts for the Spirit Program. She recently served on the Host Committee for Our Town at the Birmingham Community House. She offers her experience as an abstractionist via classes at the BBAC and acts as a liaison to interior designers looking to acquire exceptional work for their patrons which includes personal commissions.
She began writing critically for the now defunct DDEAF magazine followed by Bedrock Detroit's TBD mag, the Jewish News and the Detroit Art Review. Through these publications it came to her attention that too many of Detroit’s artists and exhibition spaces were not finding coverage. This inspired the launch of Real Art Detroit, a digital art review newsletter. In 9 months, this publication has over 200 subscribers with 500-600+ views per article.
REAL ART DETROIT | Kim Fay | Substack
Artist reception at detroit contemporary on April 9, 2022 from 6pm to 10pm.
The Detroit Culture Club Lounge opens for the first time on the same evening on the third floor of the Chalfonte House where detroit contemporary is located on the first floor. RSVP for the opening of the Club Lounge on April 9. Seating is still available for 7pm, 8pm and 9pm. [RSVP Here]
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detroit contemporary presents
The Eveningal That Changed Art – A Spring Salon
Gallery reception: April 9, 2022 from 6pm to 10pm
Featuring
Al Hebert
Amanda Koss
Bri Hayes
Cal Navin
Chris Lujan
Corey TuT
DaJaniere Rice
Daniel “Eccentric Danny” Geanes
Darcel Deneau
Davezilla
Dawnice Kerchaert
Eric Fogle
Fran Wolok
Gyona Rice
Janice Martin
Jeanne Bieri
Jeremy Ian Harvey
Jerome Brown
Jes Zilla
Jill Nienhuis
Joan Farago
John Albert Murphy
John M. Ryan
June Mabarak
Kathy Kosins
Kip Kowalski
Laura Macintyre
Laura Reed
Leslie Sobel
Linda Allen
Loralee Grace
Mandisa Smith
Margaret Foley Hulswit
Maria Prainito-Winczner
Mark Beltchenko
Mark Mardirosian
Melissa and Robert Jasper
Michael Reid
Monica Molinaro
Nanci LaBret Einstein
Paul Farr
Robert Brian Cronin
Robert Piatek
Sean Nader
Shekenia Mann
Shirley Dombrowski-Parish
Sofia Lulgjuraj
Steve Miller
Yvette Rock