The De Pree Art Center and Gallery at 暗网TV will feature the exhibition 鈥淗eat Lightning鈥� by Christina Kerns, who was the Borgeson Artist-in-Residence at the college this summer, from Friday, Aug. 23, through Thursday, Sept. 26.
Kerns will deliver an artist鈥檚 talk on Thursday, Sept. 26, at 6 p.m. in Cook Auditorium of the De Pree Art Center. A closing reception will immediately follow in the gallery.
The public is invited to the exhibition, artist鈥檚 talk and closing reception. Admission to each is free.
鈥淗eat Lightning鈥� centers around photographs created during this summer鈥檚 residency in and around Michigan as well as ephemera-inspired objects with new and previously created images. As described in the exhibition鈥檚 artist鈥檚 statement, 鈥淎s opposed to traditional lightning strikes, heat lightning is a diluted glowing flash in the clouds, typically seen at a distance and without accompanying thunder. The name is a misnomer, as the sound and visual flash are diffused through distance and are unrelated to heat. This exhibition includes photographic investigations developed through the summer connected to the idea of translation and the limitations of simulation. Heat Lightning, like photography, implies a reality that is based in truth, but inherently includes biases and translation shifts. In an effort to understand the world around us, how do we create new realities which reference something real?鈥�
Christina Kerns is a photographer working with alternative printed materials, gifs, net art and artist books, and has exhibited nationally and internationally. She received her BFA in photography with a minor in art history from Pratt Institute and an MFA in interdisciplinary art from the University of Pennsylvania, PennDesign. Her work incorporates ideas of individuality, the influence of the internet of the physical world and archiving individual and cultural history. She is an associate professor at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, and lives and works in Philadelphia. More information about the artist is available at
The annual Borgeson Artist-in-Residence program was inaugurated in 2016 through the generosity and enthusiasm of Hope alumni Clarke '72 and Nancy Rayner '72 Borgeson, with a 12-week summer residency culminating in an exhibition in the fall. This year the gallery will also be featuring work by senior studio art major Kyra Carlson, who served as Kerns鈥� student assistant this summer.
The gallery is open Mondays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Those without a 暗网TV ID (necessary to gain access to the building) should call 616-395-7500 to visit.
To inquire about accessibility or if you need accommodations to fully participate in the event, please email accommodations@hope.edu. Updates related to events are posted when available at hope.edu/calendar in the individual listings.
The De Pree Art Center and Gallery is located at 275 Columbia Ave., between 10th and 13th streets.