MONROE, Mich. – Monroe County Community College will host a lecture and month-long public display by Blissfield-based sculptor Kenneth M. Thompson as part of its Visiting Artist Series.
The lecture will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 5 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. in the atrium of the La-Z-Boy Center on MCCC’s Main Campus, 1555 S. Raisinville Rd., Monroe.
Thompson’s work will be on public display from Feb. 5 to March 5 in the MCCC Library, which is located in the Campbell Learning Resource Center on the Main Campus.
Both the lecture and the display are free and open to the public.
The MCCC Library is open from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. on Friday and 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on Saturday. It is closed on Sunday.
Thompson has been making sculpture since 1978 in a studio in Blissfield that was converted from a former car dealership. From this facility, he and his assistants also operate Flatlanders Sculpture Supply & Art Galleries and the Midwest Sculpture Initiative.
Thompson is well-versed in bronze casting and metal fabrication but prefers stone carving. The major focus of his work since 1997 has been large scale public sculpture with commissions such as Reclamation Archway for Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Michigan in Detroit, the Peace Arch for the City of Toledo in honor of the veterans of the Vietnam War, the Korean War Memorial in Toledo, the Centennial Arch in Sylvania, Ohio, and the Community Arch in Canton.
Thompson’s other large commissions include works at places such as Ferris State University; Ohio Wesleyan University; Children’s Park in Toledo; Copley Chapel at Georgetown University; Corpus Christi University Parish in Toledo; the LCVA Millennium Project in Adrian; St. Patrick Church in Bryan, Ohio; Siena Heights University and the Dominican Motherhouse, both in Adrian; the Ancient Order of Hibernian’s memorial to the Irish Potato Famine; Florida Atlantic University; Bowling Green State University, and Jackson College in Jackson.
In total, Thompson has completed more than 50 large-scale, public sculptures.
In addition, he enjoys doing smaller scale work for gallery exhibitions, with 21 one-person shows and numerous group exhibitions to his credit.
Johnson holds an honorary doctorate of fine arts from Siena Heights University, a master of liberal studies in sculpture from the University of Toledo and a bachelor of fine arts in painting and printmaking from SHU.
The Visiting Artists Series is presented by MCCC and The Foundation at MCCC. It is a component of the college’s 2018-19 Campus/Community Events Season, which is sponsored by The Foundation at MCCC, La-Z-Boy Inc., DTE Energy Foundation, Monroe Bank & Trust and Consumers Energy.