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Local architect, printmaker unveils 'heady' art in WMU show

by Mark Schwerin

Nov. 22, 2011 | WMU News

Photo of Masks by Michael Dunn.
"Masks"
by Michael Dunn
KALAMAZOO--It's "about face" in a new art exhibit now on display at Western Michigan University featuring works by local architect and artist Michael Dunn.

Dunn's latest creations are on display through Thursday, Dec. 22, in the second floor gallery of the WMU College of Health and Human Services Building as part of the exhibit called "Heads Up!"

Gallery Hours

Meet the artist

The public is invited to meet Dunn and encounter his works during a reception from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 7, in the gallery.

In addition to being an artist and architect, Dunn is a teacher and a lifelong learner committed to creative exploration and community service. He has been working in architecture in the Kalamazoo area since 1972, designing single-family residences and contributing to historic preservation projects, such as the restorations of the Rose Street Market and the Historic Salvation Army building.

He has also taught printmaking at the Kalamazoo Institute of Art and residential design at WMU. These experiences ignited a passion for teaching, learning and sharing and inspired him to pursue a master's degree in fine arts, which he earned in 1996.

Dunn has exhibited in numerous group and one-person shows. He is represented by Midtown Gallery in Kalamazoo, and his work also appears in many private and corporate collections throughout the area. The works in Heads Up! are a study in continuous interplay between process and product, experienced by the artist and the viewer. Dunn begins by making marks with his eyes closed or blurred. He adds more lines and looks for shapes that stand out, fragments of faces that begin to reveal the person within.

"They are always accidental and chance encounters," he writes. "Things are hidden behind the faces, and the longer you look, the more you see. The story of the encounter is yours to create."

For more information, contact Gay Walker at (269) 387-3839 or gay.walker@wmich.edu.