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Robert and Elaine Stein Galleries

Dayton’s 2018 Top Ten Visual Arts

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Dayton’s visual arts scene is abundant with compelling exhibitions and activities; selecting ten was a challenge.  Enjoy this review of my top ten favorite visual art exhibitions in 2018!

Connie Campbell, Archetypes
Rosewood Gallery
November 26 – December 28, 2018

Connie Campbell’s sculptures are created through mathematical references to the golden ratio, with intricate formulas to create each shape, curve, and line. Made with aluminum, copper, and wood, the sculptures echo animal skeletons and snares. Learn more about the exhibition and the artist here.

Kei Ito and Migiwa Orimo, Nuclear Fallout: The Bomb in Three Archives
Herndon Gallery, Antioch College
September 20, 2018 – December 7, 2018

Detail from Migiwa Orimo’s Souvenirs installation

This incredibly moving exhibition featured the work of Migiwa Orimo and Kei Ito, both reflecting on the 1945 atomic bombings of Japan. Orimo’s body of work, Proofs of Burden, is a reflection of the elements of destruction, censorship, constructed narratives, and reflections on popular culture through her research. Artist Kei Ito explores the 1945 bombings through personal narrative. Kei’s grandfather survived the destruction of Hiroshima, witnessing the horrors of radiation effects on his loved ones.  Learn more about the exhibitions here.

Drawing from Perception
Robert and Elaine Stein Galleries, Wright State University
January 16 – February 25, 2018

Abel Dolby, “L & G,” Graphite on paper

Drawing from Perception featured sixty artists with a focus on the tradition of observational renderings. Sometimes there is nothing better than admiring a beautifully rendered drawing! Stand outs included Bradley Mulligan’s still life; Abel Dolby’s studies of quiet domestic moments; Mark Lewis’ collaged cut paper scenes of Americana; and Amy MacLennan’s richly textured streetscape.  See more about the exhibition here.

Kim Rae Taylor, Rendered Complete Equals
Virginia Kistler, Fungal Impressions
Rosewood Gallery
April 16 – May 18, 2018

Rosewood Gallery was host to two excellent solo exhibitions featuring work by Kim Rae Taylor (Cincinnati) and Virginia Kistler (Gahanna, Ohio). Kim Rae Taylor’s exhibition Rendered Complete Equals explored materiality, process, relationships in mixed media paintings. Virginia Kistler’s Fungal Impressions documented the natural world through photographic processes. Learn more about these exhibitions here.

Muse: Mickalene Thomas Photographs and tête-à-tête
Dayton Art Institute
October 20 2018 – January 13 2019
Mickalene Thomas: I Can’t See You Without Me
Wexner Center for the Arts
September 14, 2018 – December 30, 2018

Mickalene Thomas, la leçon d’amour, 2008, c-print

Ohio lucked out with two important Mickalene Thomas exhibitions this fall – large scale painting and collage works at the Wexner Center for the Art’s, and photographs at the Dayton Art Institute. Thomas’ work is monumental in scale and examines representations of the female body in contemporary subject matter to art history. Both exhibitions reflect on the dual influence of photographs with her paintings and collage that initially brought her acclaim in the contemporary art world. Learn more about the Dayton Art Institute exhibition here.

Edmund Merricle, Recent Paintings
Dutoit Gallery
May 2018

Martyr, 2018, oil on linen

It was great to see the quirky color palettes, focused nautical content and joyful painting of Edmund Merricle at Dutoit Gallery. Learn more about the exhibition here.

Julia Oldham, Dogs of Future Earth
Blue House Gallery
October 13 – 31, 2018

Oldham is a prolific artist, with fascinating artwork and travels on her resume. Oldham’s recent series was part of an artist residency in Chernobyl, where she documented the feral dogs that roam the seemingly empty town, descendants of those that survived the nuclear disaster.  Blue House featured her large-scale fantastical collages, as well as videos, allowing a glimpse into a reality blended with science fiction.  Learn more from the Blue House website.

Akram Zaatari, The Fold – Space, time and the image
October 05, 2018 – February 10, 2019
Cincinnati Contemporary Art Center

The photo-based work of Akram Zaatari represents sometimes haunting narratives, but his work extends beyond his own studio – Zaatari is also the co-founder of the Arab Image Foundation, which preserves a history of photographic images from the Middle East. This exhibition impressively balances his artistic vision and preservation work. Learn more here.

Juan-Sí González, Displacement: Collective Practice to Recover Memory
Rosewood Gallery
October 15 – November 16

In Displacement, Juan-Sí González digs deep into his own personal archive, from his youth in Cuba, to his political asylum which eventually led him to Dayton, Ohio.  This exhibition was a dense, emotional, and significant telling of an artist’s story, as well as his connections to his present-day community. Learn about González exhibition’s here.

Ashley Jude Jonas, it’s likely in front of you
Dutoit Gallery
November 2018

Jonas’ thoughtful artwork can be highly conceptual, but always is deeply intentional and sensitive to various aspects of material, dimensionality and balance. Her work is most successful when viewers the time to understand the relationships each piece puts forward, both formally and theoretical.  A truly beautiful exhibition.  Learn more here.

BONUS PICKS

Joel Whitaker, When Things Go Missing
Dayton Visual Arts Center
September 7, 2018 – November 3, 2018
Whitaker’s beautiful, quiet photographs documented of sites of trauma, including locations of tornado touch-downs in the American South and “photographs that explore the idea of losing things—the transitory nature of all things.” An incredibly poetic exhibition. Learn more here.

Ann Kim, Time Cycles, but Never Back to Now
Dutoit Gallery
July 2018
Featuring work made from the artist’s experience living in two locations at opposite points on the globe, Kim’s intimate mixed media paintings echo the movement of the tides and a feeling of standing simultaneously between night and day.  The exhibition includes photographs documenting the locations, and sand samples carefully labeled with the latitude, longitude and date of each collected unit. Learn more here.

Stratum: New Work by Amy Kollar Anderson & Kate Huser Santucci
February 22 – March 24, 2018
Dayton Visual Arts Center
In this unexpected and fun exhibition, the artists documented their collaborative process of creating new works, with the result a richly layered, textured, and sometimes colorful play on each other’s aesthetic tendencies and techniques.  The creative process was documented with notes and photos displayed alongside the finished work. Learn more here.

The Woods in Color: Works by Jean Koeller
Springfield Museum of Art
July 28, 2018 -January 6, 2019
Koeller’s incredible use of color and her perception of what some would call the mundane – like piles of wood – transcend to masterful compositions of abstraction, tonality, surface tension and quiet moments of reprieve.  A must see exhibition; learn more here.

Kettering Cultural Arts Manager Picks Her Top Moments in Dayton Visual Arts 2013

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Dayton was home to numerous amazing art exhibitions, collaborations and projects in 2013. Although there were many, many more superb events that are not on this list, the arts listed below serves as a glimpse into the vitality of the Dayton region’s creative folks and spaces! Enjoy!

CIRCUS!
Dayton Visual Arts Centre

January 2 – 11P1100868
A collaborative project between artist Leesa Haapapuro and the Young People’s Homeschoolers program at K12 Gallery culminated into a short show at the Dayton Visual Arts Center. The young circus performers next to their murals, sculptures and paintings, created an incredible new world of possibility and magic for youth and adults.

Jud Yalkut: Visions and Sur-Realities
University of Dayton
Jan. 31 through March 7

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Nam June Paik and Jud Yalkut, Beatles Electroniques, 1969

One of Dayton’s most treasured artists, Jud Yalkut was revered for his advocacy of the arts, his pioneer video works, his collages and his writing.  The exhibition captured many of his artworks, including special screenings of his film and video works, many of which hadn’t been seen by the public in decades.  Jud passed away in July 2013, marking an end of an era and a huge loss to the Dayton arts community.  Learn more about the his timely retrospective and career here.

The week of May 4 – 12
Urban Nights, Sideshow 8, Art on the Playground and AIA Architecture Week
Throughout Dayton and Kettering

 

The high quality and numerous events that took place over the first and second weekends of May was inspiring; Dayton’s Urban Nights, The Circus Creative Collective’s Side Show 8, Kettering’s inauguralArt on the Playground and AIA’s Architecture Week brought thousands of people out to participate in Dayton arts and culture.

Reinvention Stories
Dayton Art Institute
June 30 – September 29

dcp_Twin Towers Portrait_Emily Evans

Emily Evans, Untitled (Twin Towers), 2012

As evidence of Dayton’s vitality, a special project launched in January captures the city’s pulse. Local radio station WYSO 91.3 and filmmakers Julia Reichert and Steve Bognar teamed-up to create the multi-platform media project Reinvention Stories, a series of audio stories and short films of Dayton and its residents. The project, instigated by WYSO’s general manager Neenah Ellis, is based on a series of questions: how does a city of inventors reinvent itself? How are individuals reinventing themselves? How are people dealing with the economic turmoil of recent years? How is Dayton doing? Through this documentation, a collection of videos and photographs were selected by Eva Buttacavoli, Executive Director of the Dayton Visual Arts Centre, and partnership with the Dayton Visual Arts Center and WYSO 91.3. Learn more bout the project at http://www.reinventionstories.org.

Inside Out 11M
August 4
Missing Peace Art Space and Synergy Incubator

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Inside Out 11M at Missing Peace Art Space

Inside Out 11M is a project based on Jr’s Inside Out with a focus on the question of immigration. Focusing on the residents of Dayton, the project captured portraits of hundreds of kids, adults and seniors. From the website: “A nationwide participatory art initiative aimed at creating a portrait of America that includes immigrants and the descendants of immigrants alike.”  Learn more about the project here.

HWD: Regional Sculpture Exhibition
August 26 – September 27
Rosewood Gallery

rosewood_wilson_austere consumption
Roscoe Wilson, Austere Consumption

HWD, or Height x Width x Depth, featured dozens of artists working in three-dimensional form. Participating artists were featured from Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virgina, Kentucky, Michigan and Indiana.  Highlights included the work of  Don Williams, Terry Welker, Rebecca Emrick, Courtney Kessel, Carrie Longley, David Kenworthy, Erica Wine, and so many more. Learn more about the exhibition here and photos are here.

Soo Sunny Park
Unwoven Light
Wright State’s Robert and Elaine Stein Galleries
September 15 – October 13

sonnysoo
Image courtesy of Wright State University

Exploring the boundaries between drawing and sculpture, Park’s chainlink fence and plexiglass transformed the Stein galleries into a moving experience.  Originally commissioned by Rice University, Park’s beautiful installation has been traveling to galleries around the country.

National Bronze Sculpture Symposium
October 13 – 26
Yellow Springs Arts Council

carreno-pour
Image courtesy of Bernie Carreno

The Yellow Springs Arts Council launched its first symposium in October, focusing on the process of lost-wax bronze casting.  Commissioning four sculptors, including D’jean Jawrunner (New Mexico), Susan Byrnes (Cincinnati), Brian Maughan (Yellow Springs), and John Weidman (New Hampshire), the artists created works on site for two-weeks, culminating in a live pour of their molds.  Exhibitions, lectures and artist talks complemented the artmaking daily.  More info is here.

Object of Devotion:
Medieval English Alabaster Sculpture from the Victoria and Albert Museum
Dayton Art Institute
October 26  – January 5, 2014

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Anonymous, English, The Fifth Sign of the Last Judgment, c. 1440-1470. Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum.

A stunning collection of medieval alabaster sculptures, on loan from the Victoria and Albert Museum, demonstrate the dramatic, narrative and intricate scenes interpreted from biblical texts.  An art form popular in the 15th and 16th centuries, alabasters were considered a low-end of medieval craft for centuries. Over 40 examples at the Dayton Art Institute show the merit of this art form, which finally gained recognition by scholars and collectors in the twentieth century.

Bullet: Who Pulls the Trigger?
Art Street, University of Dayton
September 24 – November 3

bullet_DECA

James Pate and DECA students collaborative drawing

Art Street presented a complicated, difficult and important question within the multi-faceted collaborative art installation with artist James Pate, Dayton Early College Academy, South Chicago Art Center and Newtown, CT artists. Focused on creating a dialogue on issues of gun violence with a focus on South Chicago, Newtown and Dayton, panel discussions were a major component to the gallery exhibition. Artworks included New York artist S.B. Woods’ Meditation on Mourning, paintings made by Sandy Hook shooting survivors, Dayton-based artist James Pate and a group of DECA high school students. From the website: “This piece was conceived in part by James Pate, and in part by the students. After a conversation about gun violence, the students came to the consensus that ‘we as a society pull the trigger.’” Chicago artist Sarah Ward and students from the South Chicago Art Center created etchings of bullets to symbolize one for every person affected by gun violence on a daily basis. Read more about the exhibition here.

Dia de los Muertos
November 1

 

Dayton’s Day of the Dead parade and celebration took place on Friday, November 1, from the Oregon District to the historic St. Anne’s Hill neighborhood.  Hundreds of folks participated, many donning costumes and painted faces as music, art and food commemorated our loved ones. Stivers School for the Arts students, professional and emerging musicians and artists contributed to the celebration.  Spearheaded by volunteers, including Jean Howat Berry, MB Hopkins, Tonia Fish, Lisa Grigsby, and several others, the event found support from the community in its crowdsourcing fundraiser, as well as Welcome Dayton’s sponsoring of the parade, and Missing Peace Art Space and the Unitarian Fellowship for World Peace hosting.