Self-Taught Artists

Some call it outsider art, folk art, art brut or even self-taught art like the latest exhibition at the Cleveland Artist’s Foundation: Recollections and Revelations: Self Taught Artists from Northeast and Central Ohio, 1850-2007.

The exhibition features almost thirty artists, including the Reverend Albert Wagner, whose image above depicts a brightly colored cotton field scene. Challenging us and our thoughts about what art should look like, these self-taught artists explore their personal creativity in paintings and sculptures, often using non traditional methods and materials.

  • If you are in the Cleveland area,  learn more about ARTneo: the museum of Northeast Ohio art and architecture.

Wack! Art and the Feminist Revolution

Ok, to say that I am a bit obsessed with the feminist art movement is an understatement. I spent over 6 years in undergrad and grad school doing research on it. So when this exhibition debuted earlier this year, I was ecstatic.

The feminist art movement transformed the landscape of the art world in the latter half of the 20th C. It opened up new dialogues about what it means to be a woman artist and has paved the way for the artists of today.

  • If you’ve seen the exhibition in LA, please let me know what you thought, since I won’t be making it out there.

Image MOCA LA

Chinese Holiday

My collage, Chinese Holiday, will be featured in the National Collage Society’s Postcard Exhibition at the Art Dialogue Gallery in Buffalo, NY.

  • The exhibition is now closed.

Summer Season Opens at MOCA

MOCA Cleveland opens their summer season with 3 widely diverse exhibitions:

OPEN: New Designs for Public Space and Expanding the Circle / Uptown Launch Pad explores innovative architecture and planning for the 21st century, including the ideas for MOCA’s expansion and the newly branded Uptown District in University Circle.

I’d already seen OPEN at the National Building Museum, when it was there a couple of years ago. Although I am big fan of reinventing contemporary public space, the exhibition reads like a textbook slapped up on a wall. If you have the patience and time, it’s really a worthwhile exhibition though.

Olga Ziemska: Mirror Matter promises a feast for the eyes. Her installation combines little pieces to create large intallations that echo one another while trying to make what is unseen seen in an inter-connected world. Truly a treat!

Anthony Caro: Wending Back is another installation by the Cleveland Museum of Art, as a way to keep their presence in the community, while construction on their building continues.

Pop-Shop Gallery

Last weekend, I went to a fun gallery event in Lakewood. The Pop-Shop celebrated their two-year anniversary – a big event for a Cleveland-area gallery. It was my first time there, so I was pleasantly surprised by the turn out. People in Cleveland really do like art, after all.

While there, I met Phoebe Marie, a collage artist. Her work was featured in the show and is delightfully whimsical

Radical Lace & Subversive Knitting

In the last several years, traditional arts have made a resurgence. I’ve been pleased that knitting and crocheting have been at the forefront of this movement.

Therefore, it was only a matter of time till artists started incorporating these materials and techniques into works that are innovative and thought provoking.

It allows us to look at these art forms with new eyes and question our old assumptions.