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Exhibition Archive

Mark Mothersbaugh: Myopia

| Akron Art Museum and MOCA Cleveland

Mark Mothersbaugh: Myopia, a shared exhibition at the Akron Art Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, provided Northeast Ohio audiences the opportunity to see the creative output of a hometown hero. Visual artist, musician and composer Mark Mothersbaugh was raised in Cuyahoga Falls, attended Kent State University, lived in Akron and eventually moved to Los Angeles. But the artist maintains close ties to Northeast Ohio.

Animal As Muse

| Mary S. and David C. Corbin Foundation Gallery

Somewhere in the world (maybe even in your living room) a child is naming a pet turtle, a dog is tilting its head, listening for the word “walk,” and a cat is laying claim to a sun-saturated spot. Transcending language, animals mystify us, speaking volumes with their pensive eyes and expressive wags.  They are some of our best teachers, showing us how to appreciate the wonders of nature and to live for the present moment.

PULP

| Fred and Laura Ruth Bidwell Gallery

In popular culture, the word “pulp” is almost always followed by “fiction.” Director Quentin Tarantino’s landmark 1994 film by that name capitalized on the lurid plots that defined a genre of cheap publications popular in the first half of the 20th century. Pulp fiction, or pulp magazines, were printed on rough wood pulp paper and sold for a few cents per copy as entertainment for the masses.

Janice Lessman-Moss, #432, 2013, cotton and wool, 75 in. x 67 in.

NEO Geo

| Karl and Bertl Arnstein Galleries

Of the many forms of artistic expression in Northeast Ohio today, geometric abstraction is particularly vibrant. NEO Geo examines the style’s relevance in our region through the work of eight contemporary artists. In the 1960s and 70s artists in the region garnered international attention, securing spots in art history textbooks through works featuring hard-edged geometric forms or complex illusory patterns. Responding directly to this history, Michelle Marie Murphy (Cleveland/Chicago) photographs makeup palettes arranged in patterns that mimic Op Art paintings. Optical illusion also captivates Natalie Lanese (Toledo). Her geometric designs, applied with sponge-tipped brushes directly to walls and floors, will alter viewers’ experience of the Arnstein Gallery and challenge their visual perception. The highly reflective surfaces of Paul O’Keeffe’s (Cleveland Heights) hard-edged, wall-hanging sculptures also play with viewers’ senses; they change color depending on the angle from which they are seen

La Femme libérée américaine dans les années 70

Staged

| Fred and Laura Ruth Bidwell Gallery

When we photograph ourselves, we often apply our own staging, sometimes unconsciously—we tend to choose our most flattering angles, lighting, backdrops, cropping and clothing. This was Samuel Fosso’s motivation when he began making self-portraits in Bangui, Central African Republic, in the 1970s. He costumed and posed himself to mimic photographs he saw in European catalogues and movies during off-hours in his portrait studio.

Scenic Grandeur At Every Turn

Altered Landscapes

| Judith Bear Isroff Gallery

As the Industrial Revolution spurred urban settlement, artists increasingly turned their attention to landscapes. Initially, their work focused on pastoral views and topographically-accurate representation. More recently, artists worldwide have also used outdoor settings as sources for fanciful compositions, sharing personal perspectives or conveying social commentary.

Beauty Reigns: A Baroque Sensibility in Recent Painting

| Karl and Bertl Arnstein Galleries

Beauty Reigns celebrates the exoticism, exuberance and optimism found in the work of thirteen abstract painters working in studios across the United States. The exhibition is designed to give viewers visual pleasure, with the artists each offering different ideas about beauty.

Living with Art

| The Mary S. and David C. Corbin Foundation Gallery

Museums are designed for the ultimate art-viewing experience. White walls, tall ceilings, perfect lighting. Yet, many people encounter art most often not in this kind of setting, but in their homes, filled with their furniture, decorations, knick-knacks, family members, and friends. This was the inspiration for the Living with Art exhibition, on view in the Akron Art Museum’s Corbin Family Foundation Gallery February 5th through April 5th, 2015.

John Pearson, Untitled: AK #4, 2013, acrylic on canvas, 78 x 32 in., Courtesy of the artist

John Pearson: Intuitive Structures

September 20, 2014 - February 8, 2015 | Judith Bear Isroff Gallery

A key figure in the arts of Northeast Ohio and beyond, John Pearson has developed his style of geometric abstract painting over the past 50 years. Along with artists Julian Stanczak, Edwin Mieczowkski and others, Pearson was central to the flourishing of geometric abstraction in Cleveland from the mid-1960s through the 1970s. He received the Cleveland Arts Prize in Visual Art in 1975, when he was becoming known for the colorful drawings, prints and paintings he composed using mathematically-derived systems. His Mondrian Linear Series was created using one such systematic approach in homage to Piet Mondrian, one of Pearson’s earliest and most enduring influences.

Butch Anthony, Morti Swoonia Chrisonia, 2014, vintage charcoal portrait, acrylic, pastel, paper cut-outs by Swoon, 25 1/2 x 21 1/2 in., Courtesy of the Museum of Wonder, Seale, Alabama, and Black Rat Projects, London

Butch Anthony: Vita Post Mortum

November 6, 2014 - January 25, 2015 | The Mary S. and David C. Corbin Foundation Gallery

Butch Anthony, an artist not easily categorized, collects bizarre objects and transforms them into strangely beautiful art. Butch Anthony resides on his family’s 80-acre property, a folk-art compound in Seale, Alabama, where his artistic career began in the 1990s. Using various media and techniques, Anthony alters found objects to craft them into one-of-a-kind masterpieces. His specific genre of work is called “Intertwangelism”—an ism of his own creation—stating: “If I make up my own ‘ism,’ no one can say anything or tell me I’m doing it wrong.

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