Charles McGee 14624 Glastonbury Detroit MI 48223 313.273.7024
Work Experience:
Artist Current and lifetime occupation Adjunct Professor of Art University of Michigan 2005 Associate Professor of Art Emeritus, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, Michigan, 1969 - 1987 Founder/Director Gallery 7 and Charles McGee School of Art 1968 - 1978 Co Founder/Director Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit (CAID) 1979 Director Sill Gallery, Eastern Michigan University 1978 - 1979 Consultant Detroit Council for the Arts 1978 -1979 Michigan Council for the Arts, Detroit, Michigan 1979 Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Michigan 1975 - 1976 New Detroit, Inc.1974 - 1977 African Art Committee, Detroit Institute of Arts 1976 Village Green, Martin Luther King Building Murals Projects 1982, 1985 Artist in Residence Childrenʼs Museum, Detroit, Michigan Ferndale Public Schools, Ferndale, Michigan Delaware University, Wilmington, Delaware 1975 Mercy College, Detroit, Michigan 1975 Detroit Public Schools, Northern High School, Detroit, Michigan 1984 - 1986 Columbia College of the Arts, Chicago, Illinois 1997 Guest Curator Detroit Artists Market, Detroit, Michigan 1982 Pewabic Pottery, Detroit, Michigan Eller Sign Company, Detroit, Michigan Pittman Gallery, Detroit, Michigan Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit, Michigan 1979 Signatures, Buckham Gallery, Flint, Michigan 2008 Detroit Institute of Art Rental Gallery, Michigan Instructor Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center, Birmingham, Michigan 1999 - present
One Person Exhibitions:
Howard University, Washington D.C. 1962 Detroit Artistsʼ Market, Michigan 1962 Grinnel Gallery, Detroit, Michigan 1964 Arts Extended Gallery, Detroit, Michigan 1965 Arwin Galleries, Detroit, Michigan 1966 Oak Park Public Library, Oak Park, Michigan 1968 Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, Michigan 1970 Gallery 7, Detroit, Michigan 1974 Pontiac Creative Arts Center, Pontiac, Michigan 1977 Midland Center for the Arts, Midland, Michigan 1980 Detroit Focus Gallery, Michigan 1989 Siena Heights College, Adrian, Michigan 1990 Detroit Institute of Arts, Michigan 1994 Dennos Museum, Traverse City, Michigan 1994 Corcoran Gallery, Muskegon, Michigan 1989 Muskegon Museum of Art, Michigan 2002 Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, Michigan 2009 College for Creative Studies, Detroit, Michigan 2010 Marshall Fredericks Museum, Saginaw, Michigan 2011
1 International Exhibitions:
Art in US Embassies, Bangkok, Thailand 1967 - 1969 The Witherspoon International Art on Paper, Greenville, South Carolina 1968 The Joan Miro Drawing Exhibition, Palacio di la Virreina, Barcelona, Spain 1968 Canadian Heritage Art Show, Amisburg, Ontario 1976 Contemporary Art Festival Nebula, The Modern Museum, Saiama, Japan 2005
National Exhibitions:
Biennial Pennsylvania Academy, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1959 New Vistas In American Negro Art, Howard University, Washington, D.C. 1961 The Butler Annual, Butler Museum of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio 1961, 1967 Atlanta University Annual, Atlanta, Georgia 1961 - 1967 Toledo Museum of Art , Ohio 1965 The Negro In American Art, Howard University, Washington, D.C. 1966 – 1967 12 Afro-American Artists, Lee Nordness Gallery, New York (Traveled to Smithsonsian Institution) 1969 New Black Artists, Brooklyn Museum, New York (Traveled to Columbia University) 1969 - 1971 Black Artists, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, Michigan 1970 Black American Artists ʻ71, Illinois Bell, Chicago, Illinois 1971 Contemporary Black Artists In America, Whitney Museum, New York 1971 Prints & Paintings, Union South Gallery, University of Wisconsin, Madison 1972 National Small Paintings, Gallery North, Mt. Clemens, Michigan (Traveled to Battle Creek Civic Art Center 1972 and to Carroll Reece Museum, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tennessee 1973) Cranbrook Academy of Art Museum, Bloomfield, Michigan 1979 Business Consortium for the Arts, Southfield, Michigan 1987 Ongoing Michigan Artists Program, Detroit Institute of Arts, Michigan 1987 Still Working, Corcoran Gallery, Washington, D. C. 1994 (Traveled to Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, Illinois 1994, to New School for Social Research & Parsons School of Design, New York 1995, to Virginia Beach Center for the Arts, Virginia Beach, Virginia 1995, to Fisher Gallery, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 1995, and to Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon 1996) Regional Exhibitions:
Color Show Pyramid Gallery, Ann Arbor, Mi. 1973 Group Show Gallery 7; Saginaw Valley College, Saginaw, Michigan.: Traveled to Delta College, University Center, Michigan; Alma College, Alma, Michigan; Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant,Michigan 1974 Group Show Gallery 7; Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan1975 Exhibitor Black History Week Exhibit, Detroit, Mi. 1975 Exhibition Michigan Academy of Science, Arts & Leters, Rackham Building, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan The Scarab Club, Detroit, Michigan 2005 Buckham Gallery, Flint, Michigan 2008 Michigan State University, Lansing, Michigan 2009 Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center, Birmingham, Michigan 2010 Works in Progress Detroit Institure of Arts, Detroit, Michigan 1976-1977 Full Spectrum Michigan Art Train On Exhibition Battle Creek Civic Art Center, Battle Creek, Mi. 1979 At Cranbrook Detroit Artists, Cranbrook Academy Museum Bloomfield Hills, Michigan 1979 Installations CAID, Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit, Warehouse Exhibition 1979 More than 350 regional and local exhibitions
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Juror:
Annual Russell Woods Show, Detroit, Michigan 1962 Sussex County Art Exhibition, Windsor, Ontario 1965 Harlem Gallery Square, Detroit, Michigan 1970 Metropolitan Black Arts Show, Detroit Institute of Arts, Michigan 1972 Pallet and Brush Club, Detroit, Michigan 1972 Poster, Detroit Youth Games, Michigan 1972 Boys Clubs of Michigan, Detroit, Michigan 1970, 1973 Farmington Artists Club, Farmington, Michigan 1979 Ann Arbor Women Painters, Ann Arbor, Michigan 1980 Artists Market Group Exhibition, Detroit, Michigan 1979, 1980 Ann Arbor Area Artists Exhibition, Michigan 1982 “Tunnel Vision III”, Michigan Chapter of Artists Equity Association, Inc., Detroit 1982 Ohio Arts Council, Columbus 1993 Scarab Club, Group Show, Detroit, Michigan 2007 Eastern Michigan University Great Lakes Drawing Biennial, Ypsilanti, Michigan 2 Degrees/Honors:
Michigan Foundation for the Arts Awards, Detroit 1978 Honorary Fine Arts Doctorate Degree, College for Creative Studies, Detroit, Michigan 2003 Honorary Fine Arts Doctorate Degree, Marygrove College, Detroit, Michigan 2006 Penny W. Stamps, Distinguished Visiting Artists Series, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 2007 Kresge Foundation Eminent Artist Award, 2008
Commissions:
Suite of Prints, designed for Senator Carl Levin, Detroit, Michigan 1978 Untitled, Mixed Media, Dr. Pelham, Ypsilanti State Hospital, Detroit, Michigan 1980 Michigan Foundation for the Arts, Detroit Workshop of Fine Prints, Poster Edition 1982 Genesis, Mixed Media, Attorneys Joan Lovell and Jim Tuck, Detroit Institute of Arts, Michigan 1984 Northern High School, Detroit Public Schools, Mixed Media Painting 1984 Eastern Michigan University, Mixed Media Painting 1984 Holtzman & Silverman, Installation, Detroit, Michigan Michigan Arthritis Foundation, Installation, Detroit, Michigan Honorable Judge Helene White, Sculpture, Metal Relief, Detroit, Michigan 1989 Noahʼs Ark: Gateway, Sculpture, Painted Aluminium, Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, Michigan 1989 Untitled, Metal Wall Relief, Across from Veterans Memorial, Miller, Canfield, Paddock & Stone, Detroit, Michigan 1993 Democracy, Metal Wall Relief, East Lansing City Hall, Michigan 1989 Unity III, Sculpture, Powdercoated Aluminum, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 2007
3 Large Scale Public Works:
Urban Wall Mural Program, New Detroit, Inc., Michigan 1978 Pontchatrain Wine Cellars mural, New Detroit, Inc., Michigan 1975 Cronk Recreation Center mural, Detroit, Michigan 1976 Links, Inc. mural, Honoring Outstanding Black Artists, Detroit, Michigan 1977 Detroit People Mover Mural Broadway Station Project, Michigan 1987 East Lansing City Hall, East Lansing, Michigan 1989 Michigan Bell Telephone (Ameritech), Detroit Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, Michigan 1992 Central State University, Willberforce, Ohio 1985 Detroit Insititute of Arts, Prentis Court, Michigan 1984 Bishop Airport Authority, Flint, Michigan 1994 Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 2007 Detroit General Hospital, Michigan 1992 Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Michigan 2004 Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, Michigan 2006 Midtown Detroit Cultural Center Loop, Detroit, Michigan 2010
Prizes:
Morgan Prize for Outstanding Painting, Detroit Institute of Arts, Michigan 1958 First Prize, Central Business District Association, Detroit, Michigan 1968 First Prize (1959, 1971), Special Prize, Invitational Division (1966), Third Prize (1974), Michigan State Fair, Detroit First Prize (1961), Special Prize (1967), Honorable Mention (1965), Atlanta University, Georgia Honorable Mention, Michigan Academy of Science, Arts and Letters, Detroit University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan Second Prize, Afro-American Exhibit, Detroit Institute of Arts, Michigan 1968 Artist of the Year Award, Arts Foundation of Michigan, Detroit 1978 Distinguished Service Award, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti 1988 City Council Spirit of Detroit Award 1988 Studio Club Art Award, Center for Creative Studies, Detroit, Michigan 1988 Governorʼs Michigan Artist Award, Concerned Citizens for the Arts in Michigan, Detroit 1989 Individual Artist Grant, Michigan Council for the Arts, Detroit 1985, 1988 Kresge Foundation Eminent Artist Award, 2008
4 Collections:
American Embassy, Peru Dennos Museum, Traverse City, Michigan Atlanta University, Georgia Engineering Society of Detroit, Michigan Children's Museum, Detroit, Michigan Willistead Art Gallery, Windsor, Ontario, Canada Detroit Institute of Arts, Michigan School of Graphics, Barcelona, Spain Smith Group, Detroit, Michigan Shaw-Walker Corporation, Muskegon, Michigan Macabees Corporation, Southfield, Michigan Democracy, Metal Wall Relief, East Lansing City Hall, Michigan 1989 Unity III, Sculpture, Powdercoated Aluminum, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 2007 University of Michigan Dearborn Mott Warsh Foundation 2005 More than 200 private collections
Lectures/Demonstrations Willistead Art Gallery, Windsor Ontario, Canada 1966 Detroit Board of Education High Schools 1968 Lakeshore Pallet Club Grosse Point, Mi. 1968 Oak Park Public Schools Oak Park , Mi. 1968 (closed circuit television) Wayne State University, Detroit, Mi. 1969 Pallet and Brush Club, Detroit, Mi. 1969 Mt. Clemens Art Association, Mt. Clemens, Mi. 1969 Madison Heights Art Assn. Royal Oak, Mi. 1969 Delaware University, Wilmington, Delaware 1970 University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mi. 1971 Michigan State University, East Lansing, Mi. 1971 Gallery 7, Detroit, Mi. 1972-1976 Alma College, Alma, Mi. 1974 Saginaw Valley College, University Center, Mi. 1974 South Oakland Art Association, Birmingham, Mi. 1975-1977 Mercy College, Detroit, Mi. 1975 Farmington Artists Club, Farmington, Mi. 1976 Wayne County Community College, Detroit, Mi. 1976 1977-1978 Western Michigan University,Kalamazoo, Mi. 1977 Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, Michigan 1978 (Masters Lecture Series) Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center, Birmingham, Mi. 1980
5 Publications & Interviews:
Subject “Negro Digest” ,The Arts in Detroit. vol . xii no. 1, p.78 – 94 1962 (magazine) Brochure Arwin Galleries 1962 Interview WJR radio 1963 Interview Carol Duvall T.V. show channel 4 1966 Interview WDET radio 1969 Subject Twelve American Artists 1969 Subject Seven Black Artists 1969 Interview Detroitʼs New School of Black Artists Sunday Detroit News November 16, 1969 Book In Black America Presidential Publishers, 1970 Review “A New National Resource” Sunday Detroit News Magazine November 1, 1980 Interview WQRS Radio 1971 Interview “A Successful to Abstraction” Detroit News October 31, 1971 Subject “McGeeʼs New Style” Detroit Free Press 1971 Subject Black American Artists 1971 Subject First National Small Painting Exhibition 1972 Interview How Artists Decorate their Apartments Detroiter Monthly Magazine 1972 Interview WQRS Radio with Paul Winter 1973 Interview Channel 4 Television Profiles in Black with Gil Maddox 1974 Interview WDET Radio For My People with Ken Ingram 1975 Interview Channel 2 Television Focus Detroit with Beverly Payne 1975 Interview “The City has become a palette for its Artists” Detroit News October 1975 Subject Murals and Public Works around the City 1976 Book Design Detroit 1701-1976 Bicentennial Commission 1976 Suite of Prints “Bicentennial Suite of Fine Prints” 1976 Book Cover Design Humanities Through the Black Experience Kendall-Hunt Publishing 1976 Interview Archives of American Art Marsha Miro 1976-1977 Co-Author Catalog Works in Progress II Detroit Institute of Arts 1977 Interview Channel 56 Television with Roy Slade 1977 Interview Channel 4 Television Profiles in Black with Gil Maddox 1977 Subject American Black Art The Known and the New Battle Creek Civic Art Center 1977 Subject From these Roots published by Your Heritage House 1977 Interview Birmingham Eccentric March 3,1977 Review “Charles McGee Explores” Birmingham Eccentric 1977 Review Detroit News “Two Artists who let the Picture Live” March 20, 1977 Review Detroit Free Press “These Artists Do a Lot with Industrial Materials” March 20, 1977 Interview “African Art Comes of Age in Detroit” Detroit News Magazine April 17. 1977 Interview “Doers” Detroit Free Press Sunday Magazine November 27, 1977 Interview Art: A Matter of Harnessed Energy Ann Arbor News February 12, 1978 Interview Focus on Faculty Eastern Michigan Newspaper February 6, 1978 Interview Full Spectrum Michigan Art Train 1978 Interview Detroit Artist Monthly 1978 Interview Artist Award means Dream Trip for Wife Detroit News April 19, 1978 Interview Artists Energy in Ypsilanti Detroit News January 14, 1979 Interview Gallery 7 Detroit News February 4, 1979 Enrollment Promotion for Eastern Michigan University Detroit Free Press February 25, 1979 Interview A Curious Group Show at Union Gallery Ann Arbor News April 22, 1979 Cover Design Installations CAID 1979 Review Inquirer and News Battle Creek October 1979 6 Review Birmingham Eccentric Cranbrook Museum Shows Detroit Art November 15, 1979 Review Downtown Detroit 21 Artists by Cranbrook Museum November 1979 Interview This is your MCA Michigan Council for the Arts 1979 Subject Art Amid the Weeds with a few Buds of Brilliance Detroit Sunday News July 30, 1980 Interview Like his City, McGeeʼs Art goes in Cycles Detroit News November 2. 1980 Interview McGee, Haiku Prints, Double Treat Midland Daily News November 12, 1980 Lecture Demonstration Grosse Pointe Artists Association 2002 Cover Design Festival of the Arts 2007
Special Projects Mural Curtis and Wyoming, Detroit, Michigan 1972 New Detroit Committee for the Arts 1972 Mural Ponchatrain Wine Cellars, New Detroit Inc. 1975 Mural Cronk Recreation Center, Detroit Peoples Art 200; A Community Art Experience 1976 Links Incorportated Honoring Outstanding Black Artists Studio Tour Friends of Modern Art; Sponsored by Detroit Institute of Arts 1979 Committee Member Artwork for Dr. Pelham, selected by committee Poster Design Michigan Foundation for the Arts 1982
Committees and Consultant CoChairperson New Detroit Arts Committee; Living with Arts 1974 Dodge Fountain Committee, Detroit 1974-1975 Member Detroit Art Dealers Association 1974-1978 Bicentennial Art Committee, Detroit 1975-1976 African Arts Committee, Detroit Institute of Arts 1975- Present Selections Committee Focus Gallery, Detroit, Mi. 1978-2005 Consultant Detroit Council for the Arts 1978-1979 Board of Directors Detroit Artists Market, Detroit, Mi. 1979-1980 Consultant BlueCross-BlueShield, Detroit, Mi. 1975-1976 Selections Committee Billboard Road Show, Detroit, Mi. 1980 Committee Michigan Artists 80/81, Detroit, Mi. 1979-1980 Consultant Michigan Council for the Arts 1979
7 Community and Public Service:
Anna Thompson Dodge Bequest Selection Committee, Hart Plaza, Detroit, Michigan 1974 - 1975 Bicentennial Artist Selection Committee Member, Detroit, Michigan 1975 – 1976 Michigan Commission on Art in Public Places, Selection Committee Member, Lansing, Michigan 1986- 1990 Detroit General Hospital, Artist Selection Committee Member, Michigan 1980 Billboard Road Show Artist Selection Committee Member, Detroit, Michigan 1980 Detroit Focus Gallery, Board of Directors Member 1987 Center for Creative Studies, Board of Directors Member, Detroit, Michigan 1987 Detroit Artists Market, Board of Directors Member 1979, 1980, 2005 Detroit Focus Gallery Artist Selection Committee Member, Michigan 1978, 2005
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