The 23 paintings are featured in an exhibition at
the Museo de Queretaro, which is housed in a former
colonial-era convent and focuses on contemporary art. The
show, "Imagenes Liricas" ("Lyrical Images"), opened on
Thursday, Feb. 8.

"The works in this exhibition represent my
particular lyrical view of the world and celebrate the
creative process (the act of discovering and making) as a
life giving force," Michel noted in his artist's statement
for the exhibition. "My artistic development has been one
of exploring a variety of materials and ideas from painting
to sculpture to assemblage."

"The works in this exhibition are derived and
inspired by Turkish and Persian kilim patterns and the sense
of color awakened by visits to Queretaro," he wrote. "They
celebrate my fascination with distant and past cultures,
discovered through travel and revealed in fragments of
architecture and artifacts, allowing me to make connections
with my own particular visual sensibility through the patina
of time."

Michel, his wife Sally, and Alfredo Gonzales, who
is assistant provost at Hope, attended the exhibition's
opening. During their Feb. 7-12 stay in Queretaro, Gonzales
and Michel also represented Hope during the "state of the
university" talk delivered by the rector of the Autonomous
University of Queretaro.

Hope and the university established a formal
exchange agreement in 1996 that has since led to a number of
student and faculty exchanges. The cities of Holland and
Santiago de Queretaro have maintained a sister-city
relationship since 1995.

This month's trip marked Michel's fourth visit to
Queretaro, and his second exhibition in the city. In
November of 1999, the Autonomous University of Queretaro
featured an exhibition of his work.

Michel has been a member of the Hope faculty since
1964. His art has been exhibited in galleries and shows
worldwide, and his work is included in many private,
corporate, university and art museum collections.

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