Tag: Contemporary Art
An Interview with Allison Zuckerman Pt. 1
Allison Zuckerman: Pirate and Muse October 27, 2018 – January 21, 2019 Go behind the scenes with Allison Zuckerman at the Akron Art Museum and learn about her creative process, how she chooses her subject matter and more. Join us for two Allison Zuckerman inspired events in January 2019: Girls to the Front: Women Artists in the Akron Art Museum and Beyond Famed art historian Linda Nochlin once pondered, “Why have there been no great women artists?” That is simply no longer the case. From
Collection Feature: Richard Estes, Food City
Food City verges on abstraction, as colors, shapes and brushstrokes intermingle. Cars, taxis and vans flatten into the same space as the cashier’s pink uniform, the checkout counters and stacks of cigarette packs. The facades of multistory buildings merge with hand-lettered signs advertising chuck steaks at 39 cents a pound. Richard Estes crops his painting so the grocery store’s glass windows fill the entire composition. Exterior and interior elements dissolve into a single plane. This energetic visual potpourri mimics the vitality of the surrounding New
Collection Feature: Jackie Winsor, #2 Copper
Jackie Winsor (born 1941, St. John’s Island, Newfoundland, Canada) assembles sculptures out of unexpected components. She prefers organic materials such as rope, hemp, branches and logs or building supplies like concrete, nails and bricks. Not one to shy away from difficult physical work, Winsor constructs her minimalist geometric forms through repetitive manual labor. For #2 Copper, the artist built a grid out of 36 narrow pieces of wood, arranged in three sections of concentric squares. She wrapped each intersection with #2 industrial copper wire, forming
A Conversation with Erin Guido & John Paul Costello
Erin Guido creates brightly colored dynamic shape and text murals often found in surprising places, like abandoned buildings, offering friendly encouragement as they declare “come over all the time” or “hi.” With the help of carpenter John Paul Costello, Guido’s works became durable, movable pieces, such as “How Are You Feeling Today?” a large sculpture that asks visitors to dial in their emotions. How are you feeling today?EG: I am feeling pretty good today!JP: Today as with most days lately I’m feeling a bit stressed
A Conversation with Horrible Adorables Artists Jordan Elise Perme and Christopher Lees
Jordan Elise Perme and Christopher Lees create mounted animal sculptures they call Horrible Adorables and design patterns for fabric and wallpaper as well as plastic toys for Kid Robot. Can you talk about your Horrible Adorable characters? Horrible Adorables are strange creatures from a fantastical land. They are hybrids of selected animals, and have qualities that are both sinister and sweet (horrible and adorable, if you will). We bring the imaginary critters to life by hand carving foam forms, covering them with wool felt scales,
A Conversation with Please Touch Artist Jay Croft
Interview conducted by Alison Caplan, Akron Art Museum Director of Education Inspired by skateboarding and D.I.Y. culture, Jay Croft’s illustrations have donned skateboard decks, his zine Street Canoe, and most recently, a mural at Chill Ice Cream. Can you talk about being a parent and an artist? It’s the best thing ever! I love it. My kids are always drawing and making stuff. We definitely encourage them to create. Our house is filled with all types of markers, paint, papers, and glue. I encourage them
A Conversation with Wiggle, Giggle, Jiggle Artist Jimmy Kuehnle
Interview conducted by Alison Caplan, Akron Art Museum Director of Education You develop your works on a computer. What is it like to not fully experience them until they reach a gallery or museum? When I come to the gallery to install, it really feels like I have been walking around the space for a long time virtually in the computer. I know the places and can recall them. It is a strange sensation in the beginning to have most of my memories of the
Stephen Tomasko’s Fairgrounds
By Theresa Bembnister, Associate CuratorThis season marks Stephen Tomasko’s seventh summer photographing county fairs throughout Ohio. Three of the artist’s untitled photographs of foodstands appear in Snack, which runs through September 3 in the Judith Bear Isroff Gallery. The Akron Art Museum blog chats with Tomasko about his current work as well as projects the artist pursues far from the fairgrounds. Akron Art Museum: Fair season seems to really pick up in August. Which fairs do you plan to visit this month?Stephen Tomasko: August is amazing
