Art Review: Exhibit, groups showcase local artists
How does an artist continue to foster their own artistic drive and research? What exhibition avenues are open to them in the community they live in, and how do they go about engaging with them? You might be surprised at how many artists groups there are in Akron waiting for artists to get involved with them.
The 20th Annual Kaleidoscope Juried Exhibition is on view now through Dec. 17 in the Betty and Howard Taylor Main Gallery at Summit Artspace. The Akron Society of Artists, Artists of Rubber City, The Cuyahoga Valley Art Center (CVAC) and Women’s Art League of Akron, whose members were eligible to participate in the exhibit, represent four area artists organizations that along with Summit Artspace provide an abundance of opportunities for area artists to show their work, learn new skills and, perhaps most importantly, volunteer and help build community.
If you are looking for a way to share your own work with a broader audience or just engage more with area you live in all of these organizations are extremely worthy of your support and membership.
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This year’s juror, Francisca Ugalde Zapico, curator at The University of Akron’s Institute for Human Science and Culture at the Cummings Center for the History of Psychology, chose 47 artworks for inclusion. For the most part, what is on display is a fairly conservative offering. However, there are a number of bright spots that help make this an interesting exhibit to visit.
Wendy Freedman’s “Tribute to Sanxingdui” is small, colorful box made out porcelain. Sanxingdui is an archaeological site and a Bronze Age culture located in what is now Guanghan, Sichuan, China. The box pays tribute by mimicking some of the shapes and patterns that have been discovered on the striking and large bronzes unique to this culture. This is an expressive work that immediately grabs your attention when you walk by it.
Linda Hutchinson’s oil on canvas titled “Curiositas” is certainly one of the most expressive and memorable works in the exhibit. The painting features seven individuals barefoot and in swimming trunks looking over the edge of bridge or a dock. You don’t see any person’s face, but you do see how each individual bends and moves as they take in whatever it is they are looking at. Expressive and painterly marks of color make up each human form, and long swaths of smeared or scratched color moving horizontally across the picture plane help add a sense of motion to the work as well as providing a demonstration of the artist's unique and special mark.
“Strolling on Broad” is an oil on canvas by Tom Jackson. Jackson’s extremely adroit use of color and light help make this work pop. The artist's impressive skill at depicting his chosen subjects realistically but with enough painterly expression to make them more interesting is special and praiseworthy. In this particular work Jackson has painted a couple pushing a stroller while walking in front of a tan colored building. The blue color of the clothing worn by the couple and the brighter blue color of the large flowerpots on each end of the building contrast nicely with the brick red of the structure's window frames. A bright and steady light shines down on the scene from the upper left. This isn’t a complicated-looking composition; however, Jackson has truly captured the detail and expression of this moment in the extreme.
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Shows like Kaleidoscope are significant opportunities for artists living in the Akron area. This exhibit also helps to shed light on the importance of Summit Artspace in our community.
Summit Artspace, whose mission is to “connect artists and artist-serving organizations to the community and to the resources they need to thrive professionally, creatively, and financially,” plays a significant role in providing a venue for all of the arts and plays a lead role in helping to shape the future of our city.
What’s great about Summit Artspace is that it has a variety of different types of artists' work on display in its galleries and also features artists’ studios throughout its building. This helps to make a visit to the building a fun and unique experience no matter what might be on display.
Anderson Turner is director of the Kent State University School of Art collection and galleries. Contact him at haturner3@gmail.com.
Details
Exhibit: 20th Annual Kaleidoscope Juried Exhibition
Where: Summit Artspace Main Gallery, 140 E. Market St., Akron
When: Through Dec. 17
Hours: Friday noon to 7 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
More information: 330-376-8480 or summitartspace.org
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Art Review: Exhibit, groups showcase local artists in Akron
