Preparator Work

From 2018-2023 I worked at the Richmond Center for Visual Arts, as a gallery preparator. I assisted in over 50 exhibition installations. I am currently continuing work as a preparator for the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts.

What's a Preparator? A preparator takes care of art and galleries. They handle and install artwork in the galleries.

Richmond Center for Visual Arts

Kalamazoo Institute of Arts

Below are some examples of the exhibitions I have installed while working at the RCVA and KIA.

Future Now: Virtual Sneakers to Cutting-Edge Kicks

February 7, 2026 - June 7, 2026

Future Now: Virtual Sneakers to Cutting-Edge Kicks is a groundbreaking new exhibition featuring nearly 60 futuristic footwear designs pushing the boundaries of what footwear can be. Exhibiting an incredible mix of fashion, design, gaming, new media, architecture, and material arts as well as sustainable and collaborative practices, the exhibition showcases work by designers as diverse as Rem D. Koolhaas and Zaha Hadid, innovators Mr. Bailey and Salehe Bembury, as well as designs made in collaboration with fashion icons Rick Owens, Stella McCartney, and Yohji Yamamoto, and top gaming and innovation companies such as PlayStation, Gravity Sketch, and more.

Taekyeom Lee: Designed, Printed & Fired

November 15 2025 - March 8 2026

Taekyeom Lee: Designed, Printed & Fired will showcase the artist’s innovative practice, which exists at the intersection of 3D printing technology and traditional ceramic making. Taekyeom’s research and creative practice focus on making graphic design a more inclusive, multisensory, and interactive experience, challenging conventional views of design as a flat, vision-centered, screen- or paper-based medium. The artist blends ceramics and graphic design using a variety of materials, offering opportunities for both visual and physical exploration. Designed, Printed & Fired will illuminate Taekyeom’s process of creating printed and tactile imagery on textured surfaces across various media, while considering themes of culture, identity, and memory.

Washi Transformed: New Expressions in Japanese Paper

October 4, 2025 - January 11, 2026

Passed down from one generation to the next, the painstaking production techniques of washi stands at the intersection of tradition and innovation. Its everlasting and continuously evolving importance as a medium is as result of the ingenuity of Japanese contemporary artists, who have pushed the practice beyond its conventional applications to instead, create incredibly textured two-dimensional artworks, dynamic sculptures, and striking installations. Washi, which translates to “Japanese paper,” has been fundamental to Japanese culture for more than a thousand years. Prized for its strong natural fibers, translucency, and malleability, the unique properties of this paper have made it extremely versatile and ubiquitous. Historically, washi has been used in Japanese calligraphy, painting, and printmaking. However, when oiled, lacquered, or modified in other manners, it has other fascinating uses that extend into architecture, religious ritual, fashion, and art.

Powerful Forces: Legends, Rituals, and Warriors in East Asian Art

September 14, 2024 - January 19, 2025

Through depictions of quiet temples and sacred deities, ceremonial vessels and devoted priests, and the esteemed figures of scholars and samurai, Powerful Forces: Legends, Rituals, and Warriors in East Asian Art illuminates the profound themes of power and legend intrinsic to East Asian heritage.

Legendary Voices: Art for the Next Century

September 6, 2024 - February 16, 2025

For 100 years, the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts has served as an art museum and community-based art school for local, regional, and national audiences. In honor of our centennial, the KIA is proud to present Legendary Voices: Art for the Next Century. This exciting exhibition pairs and occasionally groups artworks from different periods, artists, and genres creating compelling connections and dialogues, while also illuminating the breadth of the KIA’s collection.

Clearly Indigenous: Native Visions Reimagined in Glass

May 18 - August 18, 2024

This stunning exhibition embodies the intellectual content of Native traditions, newly illuminated by the unique properties that can only be achieved by working with glass. Whether reinterpreting traditional stories and designs or expressing contemporary issues affecting Indigenous societies, Indigenous artists have created content-laden bodies of work via the medium of glass.

2024 West Michigan Area Show

May 3 - August 18, 2023

Take a virtual tour on the KIA website by clicking the link above.

Kyungmi Shin: A Story to Finding Us

January 20 - May 14, 2024

Kyungmi Shin: A Story to Finding Us continues the artist’s explorations of the historical narratives embedded in painting and ceramic practices flowing between the East and West.

American Realism: Visions of America, 1900-1950

January 20 - April 14, 2024

American Realism: Visions of America, 1900-1950 looks at this period through the paintings, drawings, and prints that sought to capture the new American experience, especially within the nation’s burgeoning and rapidly evolving urban centers. Drawing primarily from the collections of three Michigan museums — the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Flint Institute of Arts, and the Muskegon Museum of Art

2023 West Michigan Area Show

May 27 - August 27, 2023

The annual area show includes a piece of my own Education Foundation. Take a virtual tour on the KIA website by clicking the link above.

Sugoi! 200 Years of Japanese Art

May 13 - September 3, 2023

The KIA’s longstanding history of collecting works and presenting exhibitions celebrating the artists and art practices of East Asia continues with Sugoi! 200 Years of Japanese Art.