Circles of Community at Brandt Gallery

In 23 years as a curator, Jean Brandt has continually emphasized community-building over any rigid aesthetic criteria. Starting with her contemporaries in the Tremont scene, one can find a series of concentric circles that shows how Brandt envisions “community” in the broadest sense. Her inclusiveness extends to artists who maintain connections to Cleveland even though they presently work elsewhere. Our Summer season continues this practice, offering both longtime local artists and the welcome return of a Cleveland alumna.

Peter Seward: Seen/Unseen

June 14 – July 13

In Seen/Unseen, Peter Seward sets technology against the natural environment. His subject matter aligns him with the social realists, while his formal painting techniques evoke the Hudson River School. Seward’s latest work depicts unmanned aerial vehicles–drones–as unwitting “ambassadors” of U.S. policy–a new wave of technology that removes us personally from engagement.

“My hope is to both seduce the viewer with sumptuously-depicted landscapes and introduce a more nuanced narrative. I don’t intend to dwell on the political ramifications. Hard-edged technology juxtaposed against nature offers visual possibilities inherent in the post-modern drama. I’m as conflicted about living under the influence of these technologies as anyone and present these works as open-ended questions.”

Katelynn Altgilbers: Relic

August 9 – September 7

Born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Altgilbers earned BFAs from Cleveland Institute of Art and Ursuline College before relocating to the east coast, where she earned her MFA from Montclair State University (NJ) and currently teaches at SUNY Old Westbury College. Relic reworks the post-industrial, rutstbelt ruin so widely exhibited in galleries these days.Yet, rather than thematizing human waste against a resilient natural backdrop, Altgilbers offers photo tableaus of small survivors of nature’s own havoc. She writes, “Some of the pieces are from the beach after hurricane Sandy,” for example, “a sea sponge covered in small coral” against “a damaged home . . . This work is a celebration of objects that survive time and trauma.”

Katelynn Altgilbers

Dott von Schneider – Latitudes and Longitudes

September 13 – October 12

Longtime Cleveland mixed media artist Dott von Schneider received her CEAP from the Ecole des Beaux-arts de Rouen in 1996. Her work has been exhibited internationally and featured in Kölnisch Rundshau, The Plain Dealer, Cleveland Magazine, Jane Magazine, Scene, and Northern Ohio Live. She also functions as Cultural Maraca and owner of Miller Schneider Gallery. She writes, “Of late my work has been about manipulating non-traditional materials as commentary on the physical place I am at any given time. Latitudes and Longitudes is based on my two week transcontinental drive to study the living erosion of the United States.”