As 818 Studios embarks on its sixth year as an art gallery in the Tremont neighborhood, we welcome two powerhouses of Northeast Ohio art to our gallery for an anniversary celebration titled ZVR: ZELENKA & VAN ROOY: Fluid and Fixed.

This year, for our anniversary celebration, 818 Studios is pleased to present the visionary art glass sculptures of Michael Zelenka and the contemporary paintings of artist Anthony Van Rooy. Zelenka and Van Rooy’s careers have run parallel to each other over the last thirty years, resulting in a unique friendship. Both hailing from Cleveland, their art careers have taken them along separate, but similar roads. 818 is proud to bring these two creatives together for a unique showing through December 3.

Zelenka’s art glass sculptures feature dense, heavy, solid forms with swirling color, as well as airy mobiles that capture the imagination. He has been producing glass art professionally for forty-plus years. Zelenka earned his BA at the University of Toledo, leading him to study and work at many of the most prestigious glasswork facilities, including Maxwell Crystal, Ox-Bow, Haystack and Pilchuck. Zelenka also spent time at the Glass Unica Workshop in Den Haag, Netherlands, honing his craft and doing team work. He currently creates his sculptures (hot work) at the Toledo Museum of Art studios and does all of his finishing work in his own studio here in Cleveland. Zelenka’s colorful mobiles, small solids, and heavy colorful sculptures will fill the gallery throughout November. “I love the oxymoronic nature of my sculptural glass which is so heavy and grounded…contrasted with my mobiles, which can be moved by the slightest breeze,” Zelenka says. He has curated shows for the Butler Institute of American Art and has shown work at the Akron Museum of Art and the Ohio Arts Council. His work resides in collections all over the world, including the headquarters of Sony, GM, and Novalis. Zelenka also has work in the collections of the Museum of Modern Glass in Denmark, National Glass Museum in the Netherlands, and the Butler Institute.

New work by Anthony Van Rooy will also grace the walls of 818 this November. Van Rooy achieved a BFA at Cleveland State University in 1992 and is currently working out of his newly-acquired studio/art complex in the Slavic Village neighborhood. When he’s not painting, Van Rooy’s spends time rehabbing and reshaping this industrial building into a creative hub for artists and entrepreneurs. Constantly on the move, he is always looking to put balance and chaos in the same painting. Van Rooy is a contemporary artist whose work is centered around today’s false ideals, while incorporating religious and mythological pathways. Van Rooy is a regular here at 818 Studios, and we are pleased to continue our support of this amazing artist.

818 STUDIOS
818 Jefferson Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44113
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EVENTS:

ZVR: ZELENKA & VAN ROOY: Fluid and Fixed, through December 3