‘Works by Ken Foster and Lisa Medendorp’ in Overbrook Nov. 7-Dec. 2

Black Mesh #1 by Ken Foster

Black Mesh #1 by Ken Foster

Muskegon Community College’s Overbrook Art Gallery highlights the work of retired MCC art instructor Ken Foster and MCC art alumna Lisa Medendorp from Nov. 7 through Dec. 2, 2016.

A free public reception will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 16, from 6-7:30pm with a gallery talk by the artists at 6:30pm.  Overbrook Gallery hours are 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday with special weekend and evening hours during performances and concerts in the adjacent Overbrook Theater.  For more information, call (231) 777-0324.

Lake Marchers 9 by Lisa Medendorp

Lake Marchers 9 by Lisa Medendorp

The artists’ works share intriguing relationships of form and concept.  Both artists have a respect for the environment as revealed in the repurposing of discarded materials in Foster’s assemblages and by the theme that underlies Medendorp’s paintings.

The use of interwoven shapes in both artists’ works symbolically echoes the interconnected web of nature.

Foster physically weaves together reclaimed materials such as brightly colored cable wire, plastic hose, rope, and scrap metal onto metal grid supports. This process, known as “upcycling,” takes objects of low value and transforms them into a work of greater aesthetic and material value and importance.

Medendorp’s series of paintings feature totemic, slightly figurative forms that suggest tribal art influences in which shapes interweave and morph together.  The artist describes these figures as “’Lake Marchers – mythological defenders of the natural environment who march across Lake Michigan with the ever-changing weather patterns.”

Foster and Medendorp have shown their work throughout west Michigan and have received numerous awards in juried competitive exhibitions. However, this show represents a rare opportunity to see a large number of their pieces together in one location.