By: Dean Vaglia | Mount Clemens-Clinton-Harrison Journal | Published July 6, 2025
MOUNT CLEMENS — The first floor of the Anton Art Center is now playing host to an artist’s debut at the gallery.
“A History of Dreams: Paintings and Objects by Michael Ross” features a collection of works by Ross, a curator in Highland Park who got his first formal training at Oakland University.
“That’s when I learned some of the basics of oil painting and the way to use oil paints and what you can do,” Ross said. “One of the most valuable things I learned was stretching my own canvases.”
After stepping away from visual arts for about a decade to pursue music and other work, Ross found himself compelled to give painting another go around 2010.
“I always had these ideas in the back of my mind as far as what sort of paintings I wanted to make, and so I was always sketching these things out,” Ross said. “At some point I — I couldn’t tell you the exact genesis of it — I was like, ‘Oh, yeah. I’ve kind of gotten away from painting.’ I went and picked up a new batch of oil paints and supplies and went right to it.”
Learning how to stretch canvases at OU has become a notable part of Ross’ works, as many of his paintings twist and bend around the unconventional canvases he builds.
“I’ve been working a lot with these geometric shapes and forms, things like that, and it occurred to me that I could make the actual surface of the painting be part of the painting itself and reflect what’s contained therein,” Ross said. “Making the canvases is part of the work for me, especially with these oddly shaped canvases and multi-canvas pieces and finding interesting ways to make them fit together.”
The sheer size of Ross’ work and depth of his back catalog came as a unique benefit for AAC Exhibition Manager Stephanie Hazzard, who combined her curation experience with Ross’ to fill out the first-floor gallery.
“(Ross) works on paper, on canvas, on panels and also on three-dimensional objects that he’s painted, as well as ceramic pieces that he’s painted,” Hazzard said. “He has a style that he’s placed onto shaped two-dimensional items and three-dimensional items, and composing them into one cohesive show is my job to make sure there is an appropriate flow of the pieces that complement one another … He had brought in lots to choose from and because of the size of the pieces, which are very large, we were able to utilize the entire floor for one show.”
Hazard says it has been fun working with Ross on deciding which of his works go on display and where they will be placed throughout the gallery.
“We like to work with a lot of different artists and curators, and Michael has a special background as both an artist and a curator, and as a muralist,” Hazzard said. “He works on a very large scale as an artist on lots of different surfaces … It’s fun to work with someone who also does similar work in a gallery on another side of town, so he has experience with the curating part. It was great to work with someone new to the space as well.”
Ross’ idea toward art is that what one sees in it is shaped by the experiences of the beholder and hopes that his show leaves a good impression on visitors.
“A lot of what I do, I try to make it a positive viewing experience,” Ross said. “In choosing color palates and forms and things like that. Without planting too much of a seed in someone’s mind as they’re looking at the work, I like the idea of it having a calming effect on the viewer. It depends a lot on what the viewer is bringing to it, but I hope it makes people feel good.”
Running from June 28 to Aug. 16, “A History of Dreams” is one of two solo shows going on at the Anton Art Center. The other exhibit, “Suzanne Guimond Wilson: Glass Art,” showcases the Roseville-based artist’s stained-glass work on the second floor from July 8 to Aug. 23.
The Anton Art Center is free and open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Metered parking is available. For more information, go to theartcenter.org.