Public Art of the Week

Colorful Honeycomb Microgallery made for dreary winter

East Lansing’s newest gallery is pretty small and has a good admission price: free.

It’s a colorful honeycomb, about six feet tall, tucked into the alleyway behind (SCENE) Metrospace in downtown East Lansing with 21 spaces for small pieces of art.

The gallery is a piece of sculpture itself, crafted from wood, plexiglass and house paint and intended to last and stand out in Michigan’s dull, harsh winters.

The new spot will eventually show works of art but for now, the gallery is its own display.

Lauren Gerig, director of exhibitions and outreach in the College of Arts & Letters, plans to do a call for artists in conjunction with the Undergraduate Juried Exhibition.

Students will also be able to curate their own calls and exhibitions, Pearsall said.

This is the first of three planned microgalleries to be done by students.

“We hope to see a wide variety of art displayed in the Honeycomb Microgallery – from sculpture and mixed media to installations, photography and works that thoughtfully engage with space and community,” Pearsall said.

The gallery was built by students working in Pearsall, Jamie Weinfureter and Rafael Villares’ MSU sculpture introduction and installation courses, in collaboration with Gerig.

Typically, the introduction students work heavily with materials from the MSU Surplus Store, and they began with glass from the store, but pivoted to plexiglass for the final version, Pearsall said.

“We work closely with Surplus to source supplies for student work,” Pearsall said, “which means our students get to exercise a lot of creativity and flexibility, adapting their ideas to what’s available.”

Public Art of the Week rotates with Eyesore of the Week. If you have an idea for either, please email eye@lansingcitypulse.com or call (517) 999-6704.