Used record stores can tell us something about society. The durability of vinyl keeps records in circulation for decades, with them evidence of taste, or lack thereof, and of their owners. And of course besides the records themselves, those record stores gather thousands of their covers—which are their own visual art form: Just a 12.375-inch square, but within those limits, […]
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A remarkable, landmark exhibition is hiding in plain sight in the print galleries of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Organized by Emily Peters, the museum’s print curator, the show presents an amazing selection of masterpieces, and it has wall labels that glow with superb scholarship. It’s a world-class production. That said, it’s not a show for the casual viewer who […]
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July 30, while on vacation overseas without a computer, I received on my phone, from the Cleveland Museum of Art, a list of corrections and clarifications to Henry Adams’ review of Lake Effect: Artists from Cleveland Now, on view at Transformer Station July 9 – December 6, 2026 . The re-edited version of the review below was completed on my […]
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Terms like heroic, powerful, epic, generational talent, wonderful use of color, funny, exultant, detailed and thoughtful all might come to mind when viewing the exhibition Kent Monkman: History is Painted by the Victors on view at the Akron Art Museum through August 16, 2026. Kent Monkman (b. 1965) is a member of ocêkwi sipiy (Fisher River Cree Nation) in Treaty […]
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In her new show at Midtown Collaboration Center, and as the United States celebrates its semiquincentennial, Arts for Justice Cleveland presents works of figurative painter Judy Takács through Election Day, inspiring hope and action through portraiture. Using art as her ammunition by depicting our country’s most vulnerable citizens, Takács issues a call-to-action that presents democracy as a work in progress. […]
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Writing about Sltwtr Gallery’s exhibition 250 on the Fourth of July feels right and hopeful. The gallery could be anywhere: It’s in the community-focused building owned by the organization called Loiter, and it houses something absolutely common: a group of artists building community, presenting shows. But it’s impossible to ignore its location on Euclid Avenue in East Cleveland. In the […]
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Julian Stanczak is surely the one painter of recognized international stature that Cleveland has produced. But it’s an unfortunate fact that work has not been very well shown in town. The Cleveland Museum of Art has never staged an exhibition of his work, and those exhibitions that have been devoted to him—for example, a conscientious four-part survey of his prints […]
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In Managing the Darkness, HEDGE Gallery presents a compelling two-person exhibition featuring Hilary Gent and Edward Raffel, on view June 19 through July 25. Together, the artists explore the conceptual relationship between light and darkness, using distinct yet complementary approaches to illuminate both the gallery and the viewer’s perception. It’s a rare moment in that Gent–the Gallery Director and Owner […]
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Are you a street photographer in Northeast Ohio? Do you take your camera out, prowling the city for images that reveal something about where you live? If so, this is for you: CAN Journal seeks photographers for the quarterly Photo Poets series. Photo Poets is a quarterly print feature curated by Aja Joi Grant, highlighting street photography in Northeast Ohio. […]
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Full disclosure, I have long loved Greg Donley’s photography. Why? The way he constructs these long horizontal works creates a left to right cinematic effect with the splicing. Therefore, from a distance, each work creates cool visual rhythms of light and space. In addition, he pairs these works into 8 upper and lower groupings duos, hence the title, 8xTwo. The […]
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