The exhibition currently on view at the Akron Museum of Art celebrates the exoticism, exuberance and optimism found in the work of thirteen contemporary abstract painters. Beauty Reigns: A Baroque Sensibility in Recent Painting (January 24-May 3, 2015 in the Karl and Bertl Arnstein Galleries) offers viewers visual pleasure, with each artist approaching ideas about beauty in different ways.

 

Many of the artists in Beauty Reigns draw upon experiences in other countries. Brazilian Beatriz Milhazes uses the sun, pearls, roses and spheres to create “a big fantasy-filled world picture.” Kamrooz Aram, born in Iran, is inspired by Islamic textiles and contemporary social issues. South Korea native Jiha Moon fuses her Eastern origins and Western life in works that meld figuration and abstraction. Susan Chrysler White, whose dense compositions allude to “fracturing and rebuilding of connections,” was fascinated by Antoni Gaudi’s architecture as a child in Spain. Nancy Lorenz’s vigorous rushwork and rich surfaces are informed by Abstract Expressionism and living in Tokyo as a teen.

Altered Landscapes

February 14 – July 12, 2015

Judith Bear Isroff Gallery

As Industrial Revolution spurred urban settlement, artists increasingly turned their attention to landscapes. Initially their work focused on pastoral views and topographically-accurate representation. More recently, artists worldwide have also used outdoor settings as sources for fanciful compositions, sharing personal perspectives or conveying social commentary. Altered Landscapes features art works from the Akron Art Museum collection that take innovative approaches to this subject. Californian Wayne Thiebaud simplifies the Sacramento Valley vista in “River and Slough,” while Peter Dean adds imaginative elements to his verdant surroundings in “Doovekill Poppies.” The industrial view Randall Tiedman invented in “Limbus Patrum #7” vividly evokes the character of his native Cleveland. Also on display are photographs by Meridel Rubenstein and Barry Underwood, a pastel by Hollis Sigler, a sculpture by Mark Soppeland, a textile by Lilian Tyrell and other works in various media.

 

Inside|Out

#InsideOutAkron

Starting in the spring of 2015, the Akron Art Museum will embark on a new community outreach project, placing 30 high-quality reproductions of artwork in the museum’s collection in the streets and parks of the city of Akron and surrounding areas. These framed images will be placed in individual communities, often clustered within bicycling or walking distance, to enable residents to discover art in unexpected places. This will give the art museum the opportunity to connect with new audiences outside of traditional museum walls. Working with community partners throughout the city, the art museum seeks to spark conversations about the art, provide opportunities for site-specific programming—such as bike tours, street festivals, and photo contests—and stimulate ideas and creativity  through art. Inside|Out is modeled on a program that was originally implemented by the Detroit Institute of Arts in 2010 and will expand to several cities including Akron thanks to funding from the  John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

 

The two exhibition periods for 2015, Spring/Summer and Summer/Fall, will run approximately three months each. The Spring/Summer season (April through June) will include Downtown, Towpath/Summit Metro Parks, and North Hill. Summer/Fall (August through October) will include West Hill/Highland Square, University Park/The University of Akron, and Cuyahoga Falls. Maps and information about programming can be found at AkronArtMuseum.org.

 

Christopher Pekoc: Hand Made

November 15, 2014 – April 26, 2015

Fred and Laura Ruth Bidwell Gallery

Christopher Pekoc’s work is distinctive in the artist’s novel use of gelatin silver and Xerox prints, shellac, sandpaper, punches and other common tools and materials to create evocative assemblages. He employs stitching to supply content to his compositions, as well as to add visual resonance—another uncommon approach.  Hands in myriad gestures recur in Pekoc’s assemblages. These complex constructions also convey the presence of the artist’s hand in their making, with scarred surfaces as metaphors of our imperfections. Christopher Pekoc: Hand Made reveals ways the artist has amplified his techniques and themes in recent years. These include motifs and media Pekoc encountered in the Czech Republic in 2001 and reinterpretations of longstanding subjects, such as his ambitious “Portrait of K. as Eve with Black Heart.” Threats to nature and environmental degradation that have become increasingly important to the artist are also addressed in new work.

 

Akron Art Museum

One South High Street

Akron, Ohio 44308

Akronartmuseum.org

330.376.9185

 

 

Christopher Pekoc: Hand Made

November 15, 2014 – April 26, 2015

 

Altered Landscapes

February 14 – July 12, 2015

 

Beauty Reigns: A Baroque Sensibility in Recent Painting

January 24-May 3, 2015

 

Free Every Thursday, from 11:00 am – 9:00 pm. Museum Café open during gallery hours.

 

First page image by Jose Alvarez titled We Came from the Stars. They ask that this be the dominant, large image.

 

 

Photo Credits: Akron Art Museum

 

Captions:

Beauty Reigns: a Baroque Sensibility in Recent Painting

Jose Alvarez (D.O.P.A.), We Came From the Stars, 2011. Acrylic, enamel, ink, colored pencil, organdy,

feathers, quills, crystals, and mixed media on ultrachrome prints, 72 × 176 in. Collection of the McNay

Art Museum, Museum purchase with funds from the McNay Contemporary Collectors Forum.

 

Christopher Pekoc: Hand Made

Christopher Pekoc, Portrait of K. as Eve (with a Black Heart), 1995–2014. Mixed media, including gelatin silver print, laminated electrostatic prints, polyester film, paper and machine stitching, 41 ½ x 33 in. unframed. Courtesy of the artist and Tregoning & Co., Cleveland.

 

Altered Landscapes

Randall Tiedman, Limbus Patrum #7, 2010. Acrylic and oil on paper, 49 ¾ x 73 in. Gift of Susan Tiedman and Kokoon Arts Gallery.

 

Inside|Out

Installation View of Raphael Gleitsmann, Winter Evening, (reproduction) on Main Street, Akron, OH,

December 2014. Photograph by Chris Rutan Photography.