Artistic Connections at Judson

A series of exhibits at Judson’s Streeter, Howson and Overlook Galleries showcase works from artists who are personally connected to Judson Park—a collaborative trio of shows that invite the community to experience works that demonstrate varying artistic journeys.

Orchestrated by Judson’s coordinator of art therapy services, Cathy Bryan, and Jessica Kulczycki, director of community life, the exhibits are vital to the arts and culture environment at Judson and offer premiere venues for guests to explore the works.

Tiara Grayson, Cleveland artist and niece of a Judson associate, is a volunteer in the Judson Park art studio and her show at Judson Howson and Overlook Galleries runs through March 28. Reshape: Geometric Form, Collage and the Found Object reinforces that art can be made from anything, as she demonstrates with mixed-media pieces created from uncommon finds.

Photographer Jane Sydney has a studio in her Judson Park home and will present a show, Flowing, at the Streeter Gallery through April 17.

Emmy Corsaro is a Cleveland Institute of Art student who is passionate about the healing power of art. In partnership with Creativity Works, she will present up to 75 art pieces from residents living in area retirement homes, including Judson.
Kulczycki says, “the tremendous talent across Judson communities and those involved in our arts and culture programs is an asset to the region, and we are proud to present their works for everyone to enjoy.”

RESHAPE: GEOMETRIC FORM, COLLAGE AND THE FOUND OBJECT
Grayson has “a penchant for discarded junk,” she says, and long walks through Cleveland neighborhoods evolve into scavenger hunts for metal, plastic and wood. “On my strolls about the city, I often pull out my camera and take shots of buildings, constructions and architecture from various angles, capturing the interplay of scale and space,” she says.
These images fuel her inspiration and serve as a reference.

At home, she retrieves recycled paperboard from food and cosmetic packaging, which she paints, cuts, shapes and arranges into collage. In the studio, she recovers ripped canvas removed from stretcher bars, saturating them with layers of vivid acrylic paint.

“The materials used throughout the artwork all carry unique qualities that enhance the artistic process,” she says of the many layers that captivate viewers’ curiosity. “At first glance, some found objects aren’t easily seen or noticed. This is intentional. Layering materials creates complexity, inviting the viewer to consider the multimedia aspect.”
Grayson, who works out of 78th Street Studios, says “I seek to engage and influence the viewer’s experience by offering pathways for exploration within the artwork while influencing mood and perception.”

FLOWING
Jane Sydney can get lost behind the lens of her camera for hours photographing architecture and nature, adjusting lenses to capture myriad views of the same subject to present varying perspectives. Sydney says her photography “grabs that instant of seeing what is in the now but not again in the next instant.”

“If you look at a space, a place, a person—and at that instant of looking, you capture it or them—then you look again and it’s gone,” she says of a dichotomy between “what is there and not there.”

Sydney compares photography to graffiti art. “It’s a moving, living thing, open to all interpretations from one minute to the next, and from one person to another,” she says.

Sydney’s specialty is macrophotography—producing larger-than-life-sized images of the tiniest details. Her show, Flowing, is a compilation of photographic works produced over the years. “The photographs shown are my artistic movement through the years, including the many places I have visited and seen with my artist’s eye,” she says.
Those range from broad, sweeping vistas to the detail of a raindrop on a flower. “Flowing represents movement—a beginning without an end,” Sydney says of the show’s theme.

SENIOR EMPOWERMENT: ART BY NEW AND SEASONED ARTISTS
Creating art engages the mind, body and spirit—along with exercising cognitive and motor skills, important for healthy aging. Emmy Corsaro will showcase the power of artmaking in a collection of 75 works contributed by seniors living in area retirement and nursing home communities, including Judson. Her show, Senior Empowerment: Art by New and Seasoned Artists, illustrates a range of creative experience, from seniors trying art for the first time to those honing a lifelong passion for art.

Corsaro is participating in a Creativity Works program that allows CIA fine art and craft majors to take on projects that interest them and support future career goals. Hers is to become an art therapist. “I want to do two things with this show: present seniors’ art to a wider audience in a formal gallery setting, and inspire the audience to appreciate the value that seniors offer and the validity of their artistic pursuits.”

JUDSON SMART LIVING HOWSON & STREETER GALLERIES
1801 Chestnut Hills Drive
Cleveland Heights, Ohio 44106
judsonsmartliving.org
216.791.2885