Now on view at the KickstART Gallery through June 21st is our new exhibition WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD, art by Julia Varady and Kim Diment.
Join us on Friday evening, May 30th, at KickstART (23616 Farmington Rd), from 5-8 pm, to celebrate the opening of the new exhibition. Meet the artists, view the beautiful artworks, and enjoy refreshments and good conversation.
Julia Varady is an artist based out of South Lyon, Michigan where she resides with her husband and two kids. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Alongside painting, Julia can be found taking long walks, riding horses, and dabbling in all kinds of crafts.
The paintings that are part of this exhibition are all based on Julia’s encounters with birds around Michigan’s great parks and outdoor spaces. Since moving to Michigan in 2019, her favorite thing about Michigan is the abundance of green space and the wildlife it brings with it. Watching birds bopping around and listening to all their different songs is a very enjoyable pastime and getting out into nature is a brilliant way to unwind and unplug from modern everyday life and truly enjoy this wonderful world.
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” ― Mahatma Gandhi
A Northern Michigan native, Kim Diment’s art brings personality and life to the animals she portrays. Both her art and love for animals started at young age. Her first preteen field sketches came from wanderings along the backwaters of the AuSable River during the spring thaw migrations. She drove her parents crazy with toads, frogs, turtles and orphaned animals she would bring home. Her brother ruined her high school social life by dubbing her “Nature Girl”. After High School Kim’s formal training involved a double major from Michigan State University in Zoology and in the Fine Arts. During her college years she was competing in the Michigan Duck Stamp Art Competition. She later went on to teach High School art for thirteen years while simultaneously pursuing her own art. In 2003 she started painting full time.
Animals have always had a story to tell … One must know and understand these stories to understand ourselves. Ancient man did and produced beautiful works of art on the cave walls of Lascaux millions of years ago. I choose to portray animals because I find them more beautiful, more fascinating and more symbolic than any other subject matter. I cannot comprehend a world without animals.
This exhibition is made possible by the support of Artpack Services Inc. and GLP Financial Group.
