Highlighting Grand Gestures

ACWL-Nuveen is kicking off the 2026 exhibition season on a bold note with 10 oversized original drawings in our show entitled Grand Gestures II running January 9 – February 28. The first Grand Gestures drawing show held in January 2021 was conceived after artist Diane Zoellmer gifted 100 sheets of 44”x 84” tagboard to the ACWL-Nuveen. We celebrated this kindness by challenging invited artists to tackle the large sheets with some big strokes. The 2021 exhibit put a spotlight on diverse drawing techniques executed by local multigenerational artists and highlighted the idea of a ‘grand gesture’ and its implication in a society undergoing the restrictions and misinformation surrounding the pandemic.

In-progress shots: Philip Martin-Luckhurst , Sarah Kramer, Hallie & Katherine LeBlanc

For the Grand Gestures II show we invited several artists who are new to exhibiting at the ACWL-Nuveen. We asked Tatsuki Hakoyama, Grand Rapids based artist and instructor at Kendall College of Art & Design (KCAD) if he had any advanced drawing students who would be interested in taking on the large format paper. Luckily for us he had four students who agreed to the challenge, Drew Dougherty, Philip Martin-Luckhurst, Sarah Kramer, and Sophie Zichterman. Showing alongside the KCAD students will be KCAD alumni Hallie LeBlanc with assistance from her daughter Katherine LeBlanc, Montague artist, Christopher Jones, Aili Casano from North Muskegon and two advanced art students from Reeths-Puffer High School – Hailee Le Roux and Alexis Gillihan.

View of the Grand Gestures II drawings in exhibition gallery

We are super excited to start the year off with this dynamic show, the big, bold, expressive drawings fill our main exhibition gallery as well as our back entry gallery. We hope that these artworks will inspire more grand gestures – yes to more marks on paper – but also creativity, compassion, and overall goodwill. We hope that you will join us in celebrating all the artists at a free public reception on Saturday January 24 from 1:00pm – 3:00pm. Of course, all are welcome and snacks will be served!  If you have any questions about this show you can reach us by phone – 231-893-2524 or email – nuveen@artswhitelake.org.