Events

Kalamazoo Book Arts Center 10th Anniversary Celebration and Paul Robbert: A Retrospective

Paul Robbert was one of the founders of the Kalamazoo Book Arts Center and our paper mill, which he engineered, constructed, and installed, is dedicated to him. Paul was a professor in the Frostic School of Art at Western Michigan University from 1957–98. He set up the printmaking department and was instrumental in establishing papermaking into the curriculum. Paul’s award-winning artwork was exhibited across the country and known in many parts of the world.

Paul was dedicated to art from a very young age. His talents ranged from painting to printmaking, and to the art form to which he dedicated much of his last thirty years, papermaking. All phases of his career will be represented in this exhibition, on display in the gallery and throughout the KBAC studios.

Early in his career Robbert began working with paper, he made his own paper mill, and created new processes to form sheets. At the time, hand papermaking was a lost art in this country and much of the process he employed was experimental. He was an innovator in vacuum-formed paper that created a more sculptural effect. Paul found new and creative ways to retrofit ordinary found objects into new equipment for making paper. These invocations are now part of the Paul Robbert Paper Studio at the KBAC.

Join us for this retrospective exhibition of Paul Robbert’s work, from his earliest drawings and paintings through his large handmade paper art, and celebrate 10 years of the KBAC!