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Artist Morris T. Howard

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Morris returned to his home town of Dayton a few years ago when his mother became ill. “I thought I would stay in Dayton for only a few weeks,” he told me. “That was a couple of years ago, and I’m still here.”

Since returning to Dayton, Morris has been welcomed into the area’s art community. He designed the mural that was installed at the Transportation Center Garage, across the street from The Neon Movie, last fall. Then he was chosen to paint a mural at Dayton Visual Arts Center called “Back in the Day When We Used to Dance.” Morris also teaches art for K12 Gallery and TEJAS at JCARE, one of the Montgomery County Juvenile Courts facilities where K12 coordinates art classes for court involved teens.

I saw that Morris was a perfectionist as he showed me some of his paintings. With each one, he told me what he could have done differently to make it better. The painting in this photo has already been shown in one exhibition, but Morris decided to change one small detail to improve the work.

This year his paintings have appeared in two Dayton exhibitions. The first, Dayton Skyscrapers, was shown at the Schuster Center, at the DP&L Headquarters, and at the Ebonia Gallery. The second, Breathing Deeply, Pushing Back, is currently at the Dayton Visual Arts Center.

I asked Morris if he planned to stay in Dayton. “I’m not sure if I will be staying here” he said “but it seems like people want me to stay. That’s a good feeling.”

 

Dayton Visual Arts: Community Supported Art- Harvest Party

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For DVAC’s 2017 CSA, fifty shares are made available to the public for $350 per share. Four amazing artists are commissioned to create an image (at least 8 x 10 inches in size and not larger than 11 x 17) for shareholders in an edition of 50.

Shareholders receive two original, signed photographs and two original, signed prints, totaling four images, at a late summer Harvest Party.

Artist Amy Deal Depicts Dayton

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Amy Deal with her winning designs. Photo by Val Beerbower

Oakwood artist Amy Deal’s art continues to decorate our city.

In 2015 her design was selected as the winner from over 80 submissions to grace the flood wall at RiverScape.  Her 1000 foot mural that depicts biking, hiking and paddling also pays homage to the Wright brothers and the Dayton area’s history with bicycles.

You may have also seen her work on the walls of White-Allen Chevrolet on North Main Street.  This two year project has gone up in stages, with the south side wall being put up last November.

K12/TEJAS is transferring art this week for the North side of building.  It will be a mural of Dayton inventions. In this section you can see a stackable precast concrete stairwell unit, backpack parachute, all steel propeller, part of the self-starter, and part of the pop top. Here’s a sneak peek from Amy’s Facebook page:

Just this week the brand new Kroger in Centerville has installed a piece of  Amy’s work “A Great Place To Live.”  This project in conjunction with Dayton Visual Arts Center (DVAC) represents Amy’s vision of the region’s great assets, including stone buildings, paved bike paths, parks, fishing, and our rivers.

A sign hanging next to the installation reads:

Amy Deal was born and raised in St. Henry, Oh, received her BFA from Kent State University, and resides in Dayton.  She is a fine artist and freelance visual communicator.  Amy’s work weaves typography and pigment to create poetic, layered landscapes.

A Great Place To Live illustrates the welcoming spirit of Centerville, alone with nearby Bellbrook and Sugarcreek Township.  Taking great pride in the excellent schools, parks and historic buildings and bridges, recreational offerings, and events, our residents are devoted to our community. Scenes of blue skies, neighborhood concerts, sugar maple tapping, fishing, canoeing , and its celebrated network of trails, are painted atop vintage cookbook pages from Centerville schools, churches and lady’s organizations.  The cookbook pages are also used for cut letterforms that spell out some of the area’s favorite activities and events.  See if you can find ART ON THE TRACE or SUGAR MAPLE FESTIVAL.

Want to see more of Amy’s work?  The Dayton Society of Artist (DSA) Spring Show is on display through Saturday at 48 High Street.

Thanks to Bill Franz for the cover photo for this story. Mural pictures came from Amy’s Facebook page.

Dayton Artists At Work: Stephanie McGuinness – Painter

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I first saw the paintings of Stephanie McGuinness at the Dayton Visual Arts Center.  Stephanie was one of three artists featured in an exhibit called “The Secrets We Keep.”  The other two were Ashley Jonas and Zoe Hawk.

Three of Stephanie’s works from that show appear below.

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I wanted to arrange a visit to Stephanie’s studio for two reasons – I liked her work and I was fascinated by what DVAC’s Executive Director Eva Buttacavoli told me about how Stephanie uses discarded notes to fuel her painting process.
When I called Stephanie I learned that she said she lived and worked in this home in Englewood.

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When Stephanie met me at the door I could see she was really painting.  Sometimes when I arrive artists are dressed for a photo shoot and then pretend to paint as I photograph them.   But Stephanie has young kids.  Her painting time is precious, and she wasn’t going to waste it.

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I asked Stephanie about her process and learned that since her college days she has been collecting discarded notes and lists she finds in public spaces.  She found many of the notes in the parking lots of stores.

I asked if I could see some of the notes and she got out a large plastic container filled with scraps of paper.  Some of the notes were short mundane – things like shopping lists – but some were very long and very personal.  They could have been rough drafts of important letters, or maybe personal letters that were discarded by the recipient.

 

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Stephanie reads these notes and thinks about the people who wrote them.  Then she journals about the lives she imagines for those people.

Stephanie has been collecting these discarded notes since her college days.  At first she painted collections of the notes, and her professors challenged her.

“They wondered what was so interesting about these notes,” Stephanie said.  “Well I found them interesting.  But eventually I agreed that the notes, in themselves, were not enough.”

Her current paintings come from what her found notes have led her to imagine about a family of six (three children two parents and a maternal grandmother) who share a home. Stephanie journals about their life events, thinks about how those events would impact their living space, and then creates paintings of that living space.

“A lot of my journaling about this family focuses on the relationship between the grandmother and her daughter” Stephanie said.

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“Although I have been painting the interior of the home, I do have a definite idea about what the exterior looks like,” Stephanie said.  “It looks like some of the old frame houses in Eaton, where I lived as I was completing my MFA at Miami University.”

Stephanie paints in her home’s dining room, which works well as long as she remembers to dodge the chandelier. With a baby and a toddler at home, Stephanie’s painting time is limited. But having her work-in-process up in the dining room helps her think about the piece even when she’s not painting.

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“I used to have two or three paintings going at a time, but when my second baby came that stopped.  Now I have one piece going and it typically takes me a couple of weeks to finish.”


“My two kids have one nap that overlaps, and that’s usually when I paint.  Also, my Mother-in-law and my Dad are retired.  They take the kids sometimes which gives me more time to paint.”

“This fence keeps my paintings and art materials safe from the two kids and the dog.  The dog’s name is Keiko.  I’m a big Star Trek fan, and the dog is named after Keiko O’Brien, a botanist on the U.S. Starship Enterprise.”

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Call for Artists: DVAC 2016 Holiday Gift Gallery

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Applications no13731045_1222258107793242_5442002554824650548_ow open to participate in DVAC’s Holiday Gift Gallery, Nov 17-Dec 24, 2016.

Now in it’s 13th year, the Dayton Visual Art Center’s (DVAC) Holiday Gift Gallery is the premier fine art and fine craft professional gallery show and sale in the region.

Opening with a ticketed preview party, Holiday on Ice (November 17) and running through Christmas Eve, it includes targeted marketing for the biggest shopping weekend of the year—Black Friday (November 25), Small Business Saturday (November 26) and Cyber Monday (November 28) —and attracts thousands of visitors from throughout Southwest Ohio.

DEADLINE: September 1, 2016, 12 midnight

JURORS:
Tom Heaphey and Vicki Rulli, owners/artists at Itinerant Studio, Springfield, OH

Loretta Puncer, artist and gallery owner, Gallery 510 Fine Art, Dayton

Shari Rethman, Dean, Liberal Arts, Communication and Social Sciences, Sinclair Community College

APPLICATION: http://daytonvisualarts.org/for-artists/apply-for-exhibition/

APPLICATION FEE: Free for DVAC Members; $10 for Non-Members. DVAC Members call 937/224.3822 for promo code at check out.

For the Love of Local Art

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Did you miss the Dayton Visual Art Center (DVAC) Art Auction this year? If so, you missed out.

Billed as “Dayton’s biggest art party of the year,” the number of artists, art pieces, and active art IMG_1934lovers filling the space at the Ponitz Center confirm the hype. While the silent auction allows more tentative bidders (yours truly) to explore fascinating pieces by local artists, and raise the price in $10 increments, the live auction (hosted by Doug Sorrell) is always a treat. This year – especially so – as a beautiful piece from John Emery raised a IMG_1935whopping $6,100 for the cause!

Food, drink, music, fun, great conversation, and competitive art bidding (don’t worry – if $6,100 isn’t in your budget, you can get much more affordable pieces through the silent auction) makes this a night to remember.

But – that was last weekend. You might have missed out! How, dear friend, are you to get your own local art fix? Fear not! You can still support Dayton Visual Arts Center and talented, local artists here in Dayton by purchasing a share of the CSA (Community Supported ART!). For $650, you “buy into” the community and your share acts as seed funding to support six artists as they make fabulous work for you! Take a look at the artists and the type of work you may be able to expect.

 

DVAC Launches Community Supported Art Program —CSA(rt)

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DVAC CSA ARTThe Dayton Visual Arts Center (DVAC) has launched an inaugural program that will allow 50 lucky art lovers a special opportunity to connect with one-of-a-kind visual art and the talented artists behind the limited edition original artworks.

 

The Community Supported Art Program — CSA(rt) — is a spin on “Community Supported Agriculture” providing art lovers a share of fresh, handcrafted artwork. One art share will provide the shareholder with a crop of six unique, signed pieces of art created in editions of 50, as well as two tickets to a special Harvest Pick-Up Party to be held this summer in August. A total of 50 shares will be available for $650 a share. It’s a program designed to strengthen the art community by supporting the careers of emerging artists and cultivating collectors.

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With only 50 shares available for purchase, the community is encouraged to sign up now as shares are expected to sell-out quickly. Shares will go on sale February 1 to DVAC members and then open up to the general public for sale on February 8. Artists will be announced to the art-loving public on Valentine’s Day (February 14). Guest juror helping select the featured CSA(rt) work is James Yood, adjunct Professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and contributor to Artforum International.

 

“Purchasing a DVAC CSA share is an opportunity to collect work by acclaimed local artists at affordable prices, discover emerging artists and support DVAC and the local art community,” said DVAC Executive Director Eva Buttacavoli.

 

 

To learn more about DVAC’s CSA and to become an exclusive shareholder, please visit www.daytonvisualarts.org. To become a DVAC member and receive exhibition and sales opportunities all year long, visit www.daytonvisualarts.org and click on “Membership.”

 

“DVAC’s CSA is a year of grass-roots art buying, collecting, networking, parties and special moments,” said Amy Deal, DVAC CSA Coordinator who is co-coordinating the program with Alexis Larsen. “It’s 100 percent organic, fresh, locally sourced and good for you. With limited shares available the time to buy is now!”

 

The Dayton Visual Arts Center (DVAC) helps sustain the arts community by providing a place to show, market, and sell work and also helps satisfy the needs and wants of art-lovers who have a place to see artists’ work and, often, meet the artists. At its core, DVAC advances art for the community and a community for artists.

 

 

DVAC Call For Artists

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12310006_1081668951852159_7089434583652423082_o2016 DVAC CSA(rt) strengthening the art community by supporting the careers of emerging artists and cultivating collectors

Six artists will be selected to receive a commission of $1,500 to create an artwork in an edition of 50. Artists will be selected through representative images from this application. DVAC CSA Committee will work with individual artists to approve final artwork for edition. Artists must commit to creating edition between notification (Feb 13) and deadline of July 1, 2016. Commission payment 50% at agreement signing; balance at delivery.

JUROR
Guest juror: James Yood, adjunct Professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and contributor Artforum International.

ARTIST SUBMISSION CRITERIA
All artists are eligible to apply. Emerging artists (artists exhibiting less than 3 years are particularly encouraged.) DVAC seeks to present work of the highest level of craftsmanship, originality and contemporary style. All work must be structurally sound, safe, non-toxic and fit for its intended use. DVAC will not accept commercially-produced items or structures.
REQUIREMENTS:

Media
Images – Minimum: 1, Maximum: 5
Total Media – Minimum: 1, Maximum: 5

Media: any; but selected artists must commit to creating an edition of 50 artworks (photographs, prints, multiples, small objects, etc.) between selection (Feb 14) and deadline July 1, 2016.

APPLICATION FEE
Free for Current DVAC Members; $10 for non-Members

CURRENT DVAC MEMBERS
DVAC Member Waiver Code (at checkout). Questions, email Gallery Manager at [email protected] or call 937/224.3822.

Why CSA?
CSA-Community Supported Art is a self-sustaining economic model based on the concept of Community Supported Agriculture. The program’s products are created by artists and income is sustained by the CSA members (and possible partner organizations). CSAs are built upon connections between and the community.

Timeline
2015
December 9:  Application Opens via callforentry.org
 
2016
January 16 or 21:   Open discussion/feedback session 6-7 p.m.; 1-2 p.m.
February 8:  Application Deadline
February 13: Artist Notification & Contract
February 14: Shares on sale to DVAC Members
February 21: Shares on sale to General Public
PENDING: Juror’s Talk: Why These Artists? (free & open to the public)
July 1:  Edition Deadline & delivery appointment
August TBA Harvest Party / Delivery of artworks to shareholders
 
How it Works: For Shareholders
In February DVAC will announce the six artists commissioned to create art editions and unveil bios and examples of their work on the DVAC website. Images will be representative of what shareholders will receive. Fifty shares will be made available to the public for $650 per share. In August, DVAC will host the first annual DVAC CSA Harvest party at which shareholders will receive six original, signed works of art.

CSA Art is limited edition for CSA Shareholders only—unavailable elsewhere. CSA artwork is created for the DVAC CSA in limited editions. This is what makes it, like an agricultural CSA, fresh and local.

Audience & Shareholder Sales
DVAC has a reach of 3,500 artists, collectors, faculty, curators, gallerists, the media and the general public; and a membership of 600. Our audience appreciates contemporary art and fine craft. In 2014-15 DVAC helped artists receive over $72,000 in art sales commissions.

51 Artists’ Handcrafted “giftables” in DVAC’s Holiday Gift Gallery

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7109_865831023435954_2634505968125250484_nSparkling glass ornaments, hand-turned wood bowls, eclectic jewelry, painted silk and chunky hand-knit scarves, charming pottery, architecturally-inspired ceramic, letterpress cards, black and white photography and small whimsical painting are what’s on view at DVAC to kick-off the Holiday Season.

 

DVAC’s annual gift gallery has become the BEST one-stop-shopping for friends, loved ones, workmates and …yourself! Everything is one of a kind and made by a DVAC member artists—either experienced or just starting out. All items are priced competitively and were chosen for their originality, quality craftsmanship and
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This year’s featured fine art and fine craft was selected jurors Kim Megginson, Owner/Buyer, ZIG ZAG Gallery, Dayton; Litsa Spanos, President, ADC Art Design Consultants, Cincinnati; and Betty Talbott, Executive Director, Ohio Designer Craftsmen and Ohio Craft Museum, Columbus.

 

DVAC helps sustain the arts community by providing a place for artist to exhibit, market, and sell work and also helps satisfy the needs and wants of art-lovers who have a place to see art and, often, meet the artists – it is how DVAC connects the dots in visual arts. In 2013 DVAC ARTtoBUY artists received over $18,000 in art sales commissions. At its core, DVAC advances art for the community and a community for artists.

 

10394022_870313012987755_6670593127787336051_n DVAC’s popular Beer & Peanuts Shopping Party is back December 17, 5-8 p.m. featuring beers selected by Joe Waizmann of Warped Wing Brewing Company

 

The Dayton Visual Arts Center provides art for the community and a community for artists. DVAC receives operating support from the Ohio Arts Council, Culture Works, Dayton Power & Light Foundation, Montgomery County Arts & Cultural District, the Virginia W. Kettering Foundation; Community Partner Members Houser Asphalt & Concrete, LWC Inc., Mousaian Oriental Rugs and Premier Health; and Members.

 

DVAC is located at 118 N. Jefferson St in downtown Dayton. Ample metered parking; free after 6pm and on weekends. Gallery Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 11am-6pm. Closed Sunday and Monday.

 

 

DVAC Presents Abstract Paintings By Dayton’s Susanne Scherette King

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Inspired by the bold, graphic lines of American expressionists Robert Motherwell and Franz Kline (ca. 1940-60s); and steeped in the palette and organic architecture stylized by Frank Lloyd Wright and paralleled in her Oakwood home, Susanne Scherette King‘s abstract shapes, dynamic brush strokes, tones and textures are visual poetry.

 

DVAC’s solo exhibition of Dayton-based painter, Susanne Scherette King is on view November 7 through December 27, 2014 King’s work was selected for solo exhibition amongst 120 applications for DVAC’s 2012 Biennial Call for Exhibitions.

Rigidly She Descended on Her Position, 2014 24 x 24 nfssmall

Born and raised in Indiana, with a B.A. from Valparaiso University (IN) and an M.S. in Education from University of Dayton, she’s been a resident of Oakwood since the early 1980s. She found her creative outlet in garden design and began painting seriously in 2004 while teaching writing at Oakwood Junior High. She quickly reached a level of accomplishment leading to shows in Dayton and Columbus in 2009 and Philadelphia in 2010.  Her work was briefly interrupted by a serious automobile accident in the Fall of 2011 and subsequent illness. Remarkably, however, the work displayed in this show, as well as other large-scale work, was produced predominantly from the Summer of 2011 to the present, during what was supposed to be a period of rest and recovery.

 

She says of how she approaches her canvas: “Each canvas is approached without any preconception. Color evokes emotion; emotion evokes color. The creative-process used on these paintings involves continual change, moving through layers and layers of color and medium. This process evolves into an expression of translucent, organic form. Like nature, sometimes the elements have a life of their own. Paint, water, and oil mix and create a synergy emerging on the canvas.”

 

The Opening Reception is November 7, 5-8 p.m. and is free and open to the public. King will be giving a fee Gallery Talk on December 11, at 6:15 p.m. The exhibition runs through December 27.

 

The Presenting Exhibition Sponsors are Jon & Diana Sebaly; Exhibition Partners are Bill & Mary Koch; and Education & Public Program Sponsors are Dr. Bob Brandt, King Orthodontics and Michael E. Peters, Esq.

 

imgres-1The Dayton Visual Arts Center provides art for the community and a community for artists. DVAC receives operating support from the Ohio Arts Council, Culture Works, Dayton Power & Light Foundation, Montgomery County Arts & Cultural District, the Virginia W. Kettering Foundation; Community Partner Members Houser Asphalt & Concrete, LWC Inc., Mousaian Oriental Rugs and Premier Health; and Members.

 

DVAC is located at 118 N. Jefferson St in downtown Dayton. Ample metered parking; free after 6pm and on weekends. Gallery Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 11am-6pm. Closed Sunday and Monday.

A Family in Art – The Dayton Visual Arts Center 20th Anniversary Auction

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The Dayton Racquet Club view

A view from the top.

The Dayton Racquet Club sits on top of the Kettering Tower, offering an amazing view of the city from any window you choose. Heading into this venerable Dayton establishment is special for any reason. This past Thursday night was no different; people mingling, smiling, and filling the 29th floor of the Kettering Tower with light conversation and laughter. If you did not know better, you would think that this was a family reunion. Everyone knew each other, and any stranger that came up was warmly greeted and introduced to the rest of the group. You would have been hard pressed to find two people in the room that were complete strangers. The only difference on this night is the main focus of the room. The views of all things grand in Dayton fades back as thirteen pieces step into the spotlight.

The thirteen pieces of art ranged from photography to ink drawings, from sculpture to charcoal drawings. This gallery represents just a fraction of the art that has been purchased over the past 20 years through various shows, Artist’s Palates, and auctions sponsored by the Dayton Visual Art Center (DVAC). DVAC is celebrating the 20th anniversary of this yearly tradition. The actual auction this year is on April 25th, but on this past Thursday evening they had a kickoff party leading up to the main event. Being on the top floor in the tallest building in Dayton can almost be seen as a metaphor of how far this institution has come.

DVAC started in 1991 in the Biltmore Hotel, where they were able to set up a small gallery for local artists to share their work with the community. Their goal was a simple one; expose Dayton to the original artistic talent they had in the city and provide a setting for art lovers to meet and discuss their passion. They had a few fundraisers in the early days through various shows, such as their Masquerades where they invited artists to create masks for auction. It was not long before the idea of organizing an auction where artists would donate work and the community at large could come in and bid on it was suggested. The first auction in 1994 was at the Dayton Art Institute. It was organized by artists and members Pam Hauk, Linda Lombard, and Ray Must, and it started a tradition that has helped build this community into a family over the last twenty years.

Just one of the beautiful pieces on loan for the show, Caryatids by Don Williams.

Just one of the beautiful pieces on loan for the show, Caryatids by Don Williams.

Everyone in the room had a story to tell. Each piece of art that silently drew all of the attention in the room belonged to a member. They sat as examples of some of the art that has been auctioned over the lifetime of the events. Eva Buttacavoli, the Executive Director of DVAC and host for the evening, did not just introduce each piece of art in the room, she was able to entice almost every owner to narrate the history of the piece and why they love it. Each piece was impressive, created by names like Andy Snow, Homer Hacker, and Palli Davis. What is equally impressive were the stories told by the collectors about the impact the piece had in their lives. Some did not just collect art from the artists, but were able to develop personal relationships with them. Relationships that led to deeper understanding of the art that was being produced. Some purchased from a variety of artists; some would buy every piece from one artist (if they had room in the house). As one of the collectors told her story, she spoke about how “DVAC becomes a part of your life” and how they “never buy work we don’t love to see every day.” Another woman spoke about how her children, growing up around all this amazing art, were able to not only meet these talented people, but pick out their work on the street. More than a few pieces were bought while the speakers spouse was away. There was a bond among all the people in the room, being either lovers of art, creators of art, or both.

Many of the people attending that night had memories of DVAC that went back to the beginning. Ray Must was there, one of the original three creators of the auction and an artist in his own right. He has been an active member in the Dayton art community for decades as an artist and an educator at Wright State University. His works range from large scale murals in acrylic paint to smaller, more detailed etching. In the opinion of one of the collectors, “what Ray has done for the community cannot be measured.” One of his works, “Edwin Moses and the Dayton Carousel”, will be available at the live auction on April 25th. Bobette ”BK” Olsen was also in attendance, carrying a file that showed some of the history of DVAC’s shows. Names like Connie Hanselman, Ernest Koerlin, Abner Cope and Bobette herself showed up over the years of shows. Sculptor Susan Zurcher, was also there as an early supporter. She chaired the second artist auction, helping to “expose all the hidden gems” within the city. She sees the organization as a microcosm of the city, “helping each other without blowing our own horns.” These three and many more have been involved with this organization over the years, building it slowly but surely. All of the people in the room that night helped build it from the ground floor of a donated space downtown to the top of the town.

The apron from the first art auction.

The apron from the first art auction.

The Friday, April 25th show is going to be the 20th Anniversary artist auction. Ten pieces will be on display at the live auction, with over one hundred more pieces being available online for a silent auction. The curators see this event less as a party and more of a family reunion. It is a chance for the art collectors in the community, some who may not have seen each other for years, to speak with old friends and meet new collectors in the community. This event has outgrown the auction’s home of the last few years, the Ponitz Center in Sinclair Community College, and has moved into a new home at The Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center. It is a perfect opportunity for veteran art collectors to see all the newest talent Dayton has to offer, or for new collectors to meet the artists and patron that make Dayton such an original. Ms. Buttacavoli stated it best at the kickoff; this is a celebration “of a generation of artists giving to the community and people supporting art.”

 

The Dayton Visual Art Center Presents Close to the Edge: Paintings by Vera Scekic

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Vera Scekci, Untitled (brilliant blue cell), 2012, acrylic, pouring medium, drafting film on canvasAlthough some critics argue that painting is an obsolete art form, artists like Vera Scekic are demonstrating that contemporary work can reference 2D works on canvas yet encapsulate the physicality of other media; it can challenge traditional applications propelling it into new territory. Scekic’s inventive manipulation of this fluid medium allows her to explore textures and a vibrant palette of “unnaturally natural” colors in assemblages that become sculptural. Her interest in biology finds form in metaphoric images evoking cells, the fundamental building blocks of all nature.

Scekic pours viscous acrylic paint onto prepared surfaces and then either air-dries the wet layers to create cracks and fissures or waits for natural processes to dry the paint into smoother finishes. After the pours have dried, she cuts and layers shapes to compose new combinations of color and form that she affixes to wood panels, canvases or walls. She juxtaposes nature’s hues with chromatic, chemically-produced colors to reference the endemic condition of our environment in which we accept that organic and manufactured exist side-by-side, seamlessly intermeshed; whether it is in the food we eat, the dye-infused flowers we buy, the pharmaceuticals we ingest, or the genomes we alter in labs.

Imagery from the biology lab fuels Scekic’s work. She states that she is “interested in not only what is presented (cells and their constituent parts) but how that 10. Untitled (cobalt turquios cell)information is presented: in isolation from the whole organism, magnified, backlit, colorized, on a monochromatic background and typically framed by a clean circle or square. This act of isolating and framing irregularly shaped, highly particular contents generates a compelling visual and conceptual tension. Cells have been analyzed and manipulated extensively, and they are at the forefront of recent developments to synthesize novel life forms.”

DVAC is thrilled to present Scekic’s paintings as form and content in her explorations are fused so deftly to express ideas at the confluence of representation and abstraction; painting and sculpture; science and art; natural and synthetic; traditional and contemporary.

Vera Scekic’s work is a 2012 Biennial Call for Submissions juried selection. 

This exhibit will be on display through December 21st.

Contributed by Lesley Neufeld, Guest Essayist

 

Music for Teacups: Melissa Haviland & David Colagiovanni

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teacupsA composition in image and sound, the exhibition “Music for Teacups” employs video, sculpture and installation that utilize one object —the teacup—as a whimsical metaphor through which to explore and subvert notions of class and etiquette.

 

The video Music for Teacups, 2013 is a composition in image and sound that recombines captured footage of falling and breaking teacups. Like the “Drop Art” movement of the early 1960s and more recently a 1995 photographic triptych by prominent dissident Chinese artist Ai Wei Wei in which he is shown dropping a Han dynasty urn in an irreverent gesture to the worship of China’s past, the artists are in good company making art that expressive and even beautiful in its destruction. Central to Music for Teacups, however, are the sounds you are hearing as a direct representation of what you are seeing. Watch how the artists have captured both the image and sound of the moment a teacup or bell opens up, bounces on the ground or violently shatters and find the musicality hidden within these transformative events.

 

A Host of Options (wallpaper), 2013 is an installation of 2,400 small laser cut teacup shapes to create a fluttering wallpaper effect in the gallery. Installed with mother-of-pearl headed corsage pins, the teacups dangle by the handle—shifting as the viewer walks through the space. The black silhouette emphasizes the patterns that begin to develop as well echo true multiplicity available in porcelain production.

 

In addition, the video For Best, 2013 and the installation, To rend and to mend, 2013 document a performance in which the artists walk a simple, oval shaped balance beam (12′ long by 5′ wide) while Haviland balances china on her head. After balancing and breaking five full sets of china the remnants of the performance are mended and presented as sculpture. Haviland and Colagiovanni have said “Porcelain for us isn’t precious and neither are the roles associated with its use. We hope our work can communicate the fragility of both.”

 

Haviland and Colagiovanni are artists who live and collaborate in Athens, Ohio. Haviland, who is Associate Professor of Art, Ohio University, straddles the boundaries between printmaking and installation-performance exploring lineage, ritual, and practice within objects that are gendered and classed. Colagiovanni, who also teaches at Ohio, is a video and sound artist with interests in the reconfiguration of image and sound and the effects of gravity and immersion in virtual and physical space. They have exhibited nationally both singly and as a duo; been awarded numerous grants, fellowships, and residencies and have works in several permanent collections. In October, Music for Teacups will be included in the 2013 British Ceramics Biennial in England’s former Spode factory.  You can learn more about the artists and their work on their websites: www.colagiovanni.net  and www.melissahaviland.com.

 

The exhibition was selected from 117 applications through DVAC’s 2012 Biennial Call for Exhibitions.

 

You can check out this exhibition through October 19th at DVAC, located at DVAC 118 North Jefferson, downtown Dayton.  The galleries are open Tuesday through Saturday from 11am to 6pm.

Love art. People watch. Buy art.

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Deal

“Think No More” by Amy Deal, Mixed Media on wood 24×24  In her most recent series of work, Amy Deal explores layering typography to create visual texture and pattern. She appreciates typography as an art form that lends itself to affecting imagery and enjoys the balance that can be achieved between visual and verbal designs. Deal is a national award-winning, professional visual communicator living in Oakwood, Ohio. She took a break from fine art to raise a family for the past 18 years, but is now reuniting with her love of painting.

 That’s the word on the street about DVAC’s annual gala Art Auction, which will be held April 26th at the Ponitz Center at Sinclair, silent auctions starting at 6:30pm, live auction begins at 8 pm.

For the 19th year, the Dayton Visual Arts Center is calling on members of the community to help celebrate the vibrant art and artists of the Dayton region. Gear up for an evening of exciting silent and live auctions, good friends— new and old— abundant hors d’oeuvres, wines, and lively music by Puzzle of Light.  And above all: a night of making a big difference to DVAC’s ability to provide programs and exhibitions that support area artists. Of all the fundraising events in town, DVAC’s Art Auction is the only one that features art and only art. It’s the biggest art buying party of the year and DVAC’s most important fund raiser.

This year, 118 DVAC member artists have generously donated work for the auction. This adds up to a genuine feast for the eyes and soul: paintings, photographs, sculptural pieces, and works in ceramic, glass, metal and mixed media. Simply viewing everything in this exhibition is a treat; but it’s even more fun to bid and win a piece or two to grace the walls of your home or office, give as a gift, or wear with style.

If you haven’t already purchased your tickets to the best art party of the year, call DVAC at 937.224.3822 or visit dvacartauction.com to get in on the excitement. See you there!