I’m thrilled to present my third solo exhibition, Lavender Mile, with the fine ladies at Red Arrow Gallery. Its been a whirlwind summer but such fun too. Special thanks to Cat Acree at the Nashville Scene for writing such a thoughtful review about the show.
Happy Mother’s Day to me! This May 14th morning I pulled some pants on over my nightgown, drove to a nearby gas station on Harvard, and picked up a copy of The Plain Dealer; the paper that moved my branch of the Oldfather family from Nebraska to Ohio when my Grandpa Roger got a job with them in the 50s. I sat down at our long, wooden dining room table and opened up the Sunday A&E section. This is what I saw:
Many thanks to cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer for featuring my work so prominently! Thank you to Steven Litt for spending time with the exhibition and writing a thoughtful piece of criticism. My heart is extra full this Mother’s Day. You can read the full article online here.
Let’s celebrate all the mothers today, and the families that support the boundaries we mothers must set in order to have lives of own. We are thankful you acknowledge that this makes us better, not just for ourselves, but for you! Your love and life make us better too! We love you so much and are grateful to be your mothers and wives.
It’s been 6 years since my paintings have been presented in a solo exhibition in my home town. Though a global pandemic has surely thrown a wrench into the machinery, time moves strangely. It doesn’t seem like its been that long! However, the progression of my work belies that intuition and will appear starkly different from the abstract work I made in the past. My current oil paintings and works on paper focus on landscape and the ways we project ourselves onto the world outside. Through subtle color shifts and invented forms, these dreamscapes underscore the beauty and pathos of being alive within the context of our relationships to one another and the environment we share.
I’m excited to announce my upcoming solo exhibition, Violet Hour, with Abattoir Gallery in the Clark Fulton District of Cleveland. The exhibition opens with a reception on Saturday, April 22nd (Earth Day!), from 6-8pm, and runs through May 27th. Many thanks to Lisa and Rose for the care and time they’ve given to me throughout this process. We all hope you can visit us and look forward to spending time with you in the gallery!
I’m excited to announce my participation in a group show at the powerhouse Abattoir Gallery opening Friday, December 9 from 6-8pm in the Hildebrandt Building! Its an honor and a pleasure to work with Rose Burlingham and Lisa Kurzer and I thank them for including me in this stellar line-up of artists, including a couple of my favorites: Lumin Wakoa, and Hildur Asgeirsdottir Jonsson. I hope to see you at the opening reception, but if not, the exhibition will be on view during gallery hours in December: Thursday, Friday, and Saturday 12-5pm, and through January by appointment.
I’m also completely thrilled to announce I’m hard at work for a solo show with Abattoir in 2023! More information to follow as we get closer.
I’m excited to celebrate our season and my site-responsive digital drawing, “Flyfall”, with you all on Friday, June 3rd at moCa Cleveland. There is a whole schedule of events beginning at the Cleveland Institute of Art just down the street from the museum. You can see the full schedule of events here. The evening at moCa kicks off at 5pm and continues through 9pm. I’ll be saying some brief thanks around 7ish. I hope to be able to appreciate the installation and cheers you Friday night before the exhibitions come down Monday, June 6.
I’m thrilled to announce that Flyfall, a site-responsive digital drawing and installation, will open to the public on January 29, 2022. The expansive image slips across five walls of the Kohl Atrium at moCa Cleveland on Euclid Avenue. The unique shape of the gem-like, glass museum changed the way I think about my digital work and installation. In the past, I would create a digital drawing on my Book 2, project it onto the museum wall from a distance, and spray paint the drawing to life. The Kohl Atrium is a vertical, lofted area that spans three stories. There is not enough space between the outside walls of the museum and the inner gallery walls to project a design large enough to amply cover them. This nudged me to consider my digital drawings as separate from the paintings and to fully embrace the digital sphere as an artform in itself. Many thanks to Ray Juaire of moCa, and Mike Wiertel and his amazing team at Liquid Image for the printing and installation of the drawing on the museum walls.
moCa has wisely decided to move the opening reception to a closing reception that will be free and open to the public, Friday, June 3. More on that to come…
We also made a limited Tee Shirt run to commemorate the installation! It is a Next Level unisex slim fit, 100% ring-spun cotton Tee with printing on the front and back. If you’re interested in having one, they will be available for purchase through the moCa Store. I really love them.
I feel so fortunate to have been able to work with the talented moCa team: Ray Juaire (Exhibitions Coordinator), Lauren Leving (Curator of Public Programs), and Kory Dakin (Media + Programs Production Manager). Thank you for all your help in making this project come to life!!! You have been a joy to work with. Most importantly, thank you to the brilliant and attentive, Courtenay Finn, for giving this goofball a chance to play on such hallowed walls and within such prestigious space. I am happy for you and your next adventure in Orange County, but sad for all of Cleveland’s artists and patrons that would’ve benefited from your tender and thoughtful vision in the coming years. Cheers to you, Courtenay, and thank you again.
I hope you will find time to visit Flyfall in person at moCa. Send me a message and tell me what you thought, or better yet, pop in to the party in June and tell me! Thank you all!
Recently, I’ve dug into blockchain technology, cryptocurrency, NFTs, and a little bit of Web3, and I’m pleased to share that now, some of my digital drawings are available for purchase through the OG crypto-market OpenSea. Its a wild world over there and it can be hard to find what you’re looking for unless you can name it directly, so here is a link to my collections. You’ll need your own cryptowallet and ETH or POLY(wrapped ETH) to purchase one of these little ditties, so please do your research if you’ve not already explored these currencies.
Blockchain technology is an interesting development for people who make digital artworks and I’m looking forward to diving further into this space and seeing how it will develop with more Web3 implementation.
I’d love to be a part of the Foundation community and marketplace but need to be invited first. If anyone out there in webland can hook a woman up, I’d really appreciate it! ;)
If you’re curious about DeFi (decentralized finance), blockchain technology, cryptocurrencies and NFTs there are some really helpful articles on Coindesk or Medium. Happy reading everyone!
I’m so excited to share the news, and ask that you save the date of Friday, January 28, 2022, for an opening reception at moCa Cleveland! I’ve been working on some digital drawings to be blown up to cover the 28 foot tall and 18 foot wide (in parts) atrium walls of their impressive glass building at 11400 Euclid Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio. Picturing my work in the same space as friend, and amazing artist, Jimmy Kuehnle’s stunning installation in 2015 was a challenge. Could my work stand up to the architecture? To the illustrious history of artwork shown there? Ultimately, I realized my work would pose different questions. I’d like the viewer to interact with moCa’s atrium in an intimate and personal way, like leaning in to hear a low-talking friend at a party. The work invites visitors to enter the museum doors and asks: how do you relate to the figures on these walls? What is the relationship between the figures and the birds on their feet? Are they flying or falling? Are they in control or being controlled? Do they remind you of someone? A person you love? Yourself?
More about the project to come…
I’m excited to exhibit some new work at The Bonfoey Gallery in Cleveland next month for their group exhibition: Nevertheless, She Created. I’m grateful to be able to call many of the talented women in this show friends. The exhibition will be on view Friday, March 5 through Saturday, April 3, 2021. The gallery is having staggered opening and closing receptions to comply with covid protocols. Masks are required in the gallery. Sign up to visit artwork from a killer slice of CLE artists! I’ll be in gallery Friday, March 5th around 5ish (once my hubby gets home from work) if you want to say hello! I’d love to see you (and chat through cotton).
2020 was a B of a year. Seriously gnarly. But in looking back, January began brilliantly when the ebullient Liz Maugans informed me that The Dalad Group would be purchasing “The Laundress”(2018) and “The Dishwasher”(2019) for their new development building south of Ohio City: Tinnerman Lofts. It was a dream come true and my highest hope for 2019 that the large pair would be purchased and remain together forever. They are sisters and tell the story of women who struggle in the home. They give prominence and dignity to the often invisible, supportive work that nourishes the lives of others. They implore those who do this work to ask for help when it’s needed.
I couldn’t be more honored and thrilled for their prominent placement in the Lofts’ common area on the ground floor. There is original art throughout the building by some of Cleveland’s finest including Rian Brown, Ed Raffel, Dana Depew, Michael Loderstedt, Lori Kella, Yana Mikho-Misho, and many, many more. If you’d like to tour the space, you can contact Liz to set up a group or be added to one!
Big love and eternal gratitude to Liz, Neil, and Amy! xo
I’m thrilled to announce my solo exhibition, “There Used to Be a Street”, at the beautiful Carnegie Center for Art & History in New Albany, Indiana, opening Saturday, November 14, 2020. Due to precautions in the light of COVD19, the opening will be timed for groups of 20 people from 1-4pm. Sign up to visit opening day and say hello here.
I popped over there last weekend to make three large spray paintings based on my digital work. Drawing on my yoga practice and understanding of my body’s idiosyncrasies, these paintings propose alternatives to feminine ideals. Thank you to curator Daniel Pfalzgraf for the exhibition opportunity, and for this groovy little video of the progress on “Tippy Toes”, 78 x 75 inches.
The exhibition will be on view through January 23, 2021.
Artist Mothers at Red Arrow Gallery in Nashville
In March, on the final day of my exhibition, BEAST, with Red Arrow Gallery in Nashville, a community of artist mothers got together from near and far to hear a panel discussion between Allison Reimus, Karen Seapker, and myself. It was a lovely day and a lively conversation, that the incredible Kaylan Buteyn organized, moderated, recorded, and aired on her Artist/Mother Podcast this month. You can find it here along with some information about the panelists.
Many thanks again ladies. It’s gratifying and comforting to share and hear your stories.
I’m thrilled to share that I made the short list for The Hopper Prize Fall 2019 Grant Cycle. Special thanks to the esteemed jurors: Karen Patterson and Lauren R. O’Connell, and the kind folks at The Hopper Prize for this lovely opportunity. Some past prize recipients include knock outs such as Genevieve Cohn and Maja Ruznic, and shortlisted artists such as Scott Anderson and Tahnee Lonsdale. I’m so thankful to be in their company.
The Hopper folks also, as part of their mission to support and give exposure to their recipients, interviewed me for their Journal. You can read that little ditty here.
Hope you’re all staying well, staying calm, and staying inside. Looking forward to the days when we can squeeze each other again and delight in one another’s company.
xo
D
I’m excited to be one of 12 artists selected by Courtenay Finn, curator of MOCA Cleveland for this years Season Pass Members Show at SPACES Gallery in Cleveland, Ohio. The exhibition opens with a reception Friday, November 22, from 6-9pm. That evening, SPACES will accept votes for the peoples choice award for best work. The winner receives a studio visit with Courtenay Finn! I hope you will celebrate SPACES and all the artists in the show with me next Friday.
For my Cleveland peeps who couldn’t make it out to my solo show at The McDonough Museum of Art in Youngstown this past fall, three paintings from that show will be on view at SPACES. The exhibition runs through December 22, 2019.
Oh my gosh. My upcoming solo exhibition, “Out of the Woods Into the Weeds”, at The McDonough Museum of Art will open alongside an exhibition of prints by Julie Mehretu! I’m so excited, not only for the opportunity of exhibition my work in proximity to hers, but to see more of her work in person! I hope some of you can join me in celebrating during the opening reception Friday, August 23, from 5-7pm.
Museum details and hours:
(330)941-1400
525 Wick Avenue
Youngstown, OH 44502
Tuesday - Saturday: 11am - 4pm
Closed on holidays
I’m excited to participate in a three person show in the expansive Gallery W at American Greeting World Headquarters, Crocker Park in Westlake, Ohio. I’ll be sharing the walls with talented Cleveland artists Jen Craun and Stephen Yusko! Please come celebrate with us at an opening reception that is free and open to the public Thursday, May 2, from 5-7pm. The exhibition runs through June 27, 2019.
I’m grateful and honored to be able to thank the Ohio Arts Council for awarding me an Individual Excellence Award for FY 2019! I’m among some really great company here. Many of my friends and favorite Ohio artists are represented in this amazing group. I couldn’t be happier! Congratulations to all and thank you again to the OAC!
The darling dear, Rebecca Cross, professor, writer, and amazing artist in her own right, orchestrates studio visits and interviews between two artists each quarter for CAN Journal. I’m honored to have been able to visit the studio and chat with Stephen Yusko, a forger and sculptor making some of the most beautiful and technical work around the CLE.
Check out the CAN Journal interview and images of our work here.
Stephen Yusko in his Midtown studio
The article is nicely timed as Stephen and I are gearing up for a three person show with Jen Craun at Gallery W. If you’re not familiar, this space is essentially the lobby of the new American Greeting World Headquarters at Crocker Park in Westlake. Its a large, lovely space and we’re excited to work with the kind folks at AG. Our exhibition opens on Thursday, May 2, 2019 with a reception from 5-7pm, and runs through June. Hope to see you there!
Cleveland is a small town. The arts community is even smaller. I've lived and made artwork here all my life and one gets to a point where one thinks they know most (if not all) the artists who make quality work within their community. Thanks to Full Fathom Five, the brainchild of Amber Kempthorn and the curatorial team at Progressive Insurance Art Collection, Scott Westover and Kristin Rogers, I was thankfully shown how ludicrous that notion is.
The program was designed to supplement the international art fair Front that came to Cleveland this summer. Front has been cited by many in the local and national press as failing to showcase the rich and diverse arts community in Cleveland. Full Fathom Five strove to provide outsiders traveling to Cleveland for the "cultural exercises" of Front a comprehensive exhibition of the high caliber artists working in the Northeast Ohio area. But, not only is this an exhibition of extraordinary work, the process by which the artists were selected was a remarkable, and community building cultural exercise in itself.
Five artists, professors at The Cleveland Institute of Art, were selected and asked to choose one other artist, whose work they admire, to be included in the exhibition. There was just one catch, the chooser could not personally know, or be very well acquainted with, the choosee. Each artist in exhibition had a studio visit with the curators of the Progressive Art Collection. Additionally, the chooser would accompany the curators on the studio visit of their choosee. There were 5 rounds of artists, with studio visits for all, culminating in an exhibition of work from all 30 artists. See information on the concept here. See the participating artists here.
Organizing this many visits, artwork selection and pickup was a massive undertaking and the generosity of the curators, Scott and Kristin, was humbling. As was the nurturing nature of the program as a whole. Relationships between artists developed and flourished. It could be felt at the openings around the city this summer as we caroused and celebrated each other. We were bolstered, rejuvenated. Visitors to the exhibition at Progressive’s Campus II in Mayfield off SOM Center Road will see this demonstrated in the text written by the artists and curators on view with the work. There is a public reception, Thursday, September 6, from 6-9pm. RSVP is required to attend and can be done online here.
I hope to see you at the reception in September!
