Since 2009, Grand Valley State University has had student artwork accepted every year to be exhibited in the Michigan House of Representatives’ Anderson House Office Building in Lansing.

The Art in the House initiative selects university student artwork for display, and this year, work by two GVSU graduates has been chosen for the Michigan’s Capitol.

Assistant Director of Galleries and Collections at GVSU, Cathy Marashi, played a part in selecting which student pieces GVSU would submit.

“When the request for student art for the legislature arrived, I contacted Professor Ed Wong-Ligda, who recommended work by several students, and I then selected and entered work by Monica Lloyd and Danielle Fritz, and both pieces were accepted,” Marashi said.

During a reception on Oct. 16, 26 pieces of artwork were selected from 15 of Michigan’s public universities.

Fritz, a GVSU alumna, graduated in 2013 with a degree in art and design. The piece that was chosen was from her senior thesis series, which was titled “Figments and Fortes.”

The chosen piece, “The Boy at the Window,” was created using pen and ink, watercolor, acrylic paint and colored pencil.

“I also used a slightly distorted perspective to represent viewing through a child’s eyes and mind,” Fritz said.

Her senior show consisted of eight pieces that she dedicated to her 5-year-old brother, Braeden.

“The piece was inspired by a quote from Braeden and is based on the idea of how adults lose their creativity as they age,” she said.

Monica Lloyd created the piece “Five” chosen for display. “Five” was the final piece in her series about creation.

“It is the most colorful and complex of the series,” Lloyd said. “I work a lot in detailed drawings and explorations of pattern in a conceptual way.”

Having graduated from GVSU in the summer of 2013 with a fine arts degree, Lloyd is now working as an intern at Avenue for the Arts, and some of her work is currently exhibited at the Green Well restaurant in Grand Rapids.

Art in the House is a partnership between the President’s Council, state universities of Michigan, and the Michigan House of Representatives to promote art in everyday life.

“It is a wonderful way to promote the arts and the exceptional talents of our state university students,” Marashi said.

Work that is selected to hang in the Anderson House Office Building will continue to be on display though September 2014.
[email protected]