Past Exhibits
June 19 through July 3, 2025
Opening Reception
Thursday, June 19, 5-7 p.m.
The reception is free and open to the public.
Exhibit Sponsors
Barb & Gary Bosco and Julie & Tom Tabor
I've known Paul my entire adult life and we became more than great friends, we became family. We spent a great deal of time together and shared many experiences and stories along the way. He was an amazing person and meant so much to so many. I very much miss the many, many conversations we had learning about each other. I will carry him in my heart always.
-Margaret Nestrick
Paul Kusmierz
Memorial Exhibition
Paul Kusmierz (1939–2023) was born in Bay City, Michigan, and held a life-long affinity for art and its creation. As a traveler and student of the world, Kusmierz studied and exhibited throughout Europe. Private exhibitions of his works in oil, watercolor, drawing, and sculpture completed either abroad or in his studios in Athens and Bay City were completely sold out. Kusmierz’s devotion to his native state inspired many works, in all media, depicting the magnificent seasons and beautiful country scenes.
Friends and collectors of Kusmierz’s artwork have loaned over 80 paintings for this breathtaking exhibition. Kusmierz is fondly remembered by friends, family, and students for his artistic vision and ability, as well as his personal warmth and friendship. Patricia Chatfield, a student and friend of Kusmierz, says about his impact:
Paul Kusmierz painted beauty with color, light, and form. He saw the beauty of the natural world, and nature’s often randomness and imperfections, as he did when capturing a flowering weed growing and surviving in a crack of sidewalk concrete. Paul could capture the “elfin” magic at the base of a long-rotted tree stump, with its hollows, moss, and wildflowers. He saw the beauty of an old abandoned barn, still standing with dignity in overgrown prairie grass, its beauty of simply existing.
These wonderous paintings give us the gift of “seeing.” As Paul’s eyes and soul translate for us the beauty he observed in his landscapes, still lifes, portraiture, florals, architecture, and sculptures. Paul shared his great gift and talent with his students, friends, family, and even strangers, not just to look, but to “see.”
An opening reception will be held at Studio 23 on Thursday, June 19, from 5 to 7 p.m. Light refreshments will be served. This exhibition is made possible thanks to the sponsorship, outreach, and support of Barbara and Gary Bosco and Julie and Tom Tabor.
