Kenneth Paul Lesko Gallery presents: Lineage | Anthony Schepis & John R. Nativio, September 18–December 19

Anthony Schepis and John Nativio first met while Schepis was teaching at Cooper School of Art. This fortunate meeting, which began as teacher and student, forged a lifelong friendship and artistic exchange that has lasted over fifty years, with both artists sharing a love of Italian Renaissance Art, Surrealism, and Magic Realism.

Schepis counts Elmer Brown, Paul Travis, Rolf Stoll, and Peter Paul Dubaniewicz among his teachers at the Cooper School of Art and the Cleveland Institute of Art—a distinguished group of artists, who were in turn influenced by teachers and contemporaries from an equally prestigious group that included Henry Keller, William Sommer, and August Biehle—establishing a succession of aesthetic principles that have been passed on from student to teacher, stretching back to the roots of Cleveland’s Modernist movement.

Anthony Schepis taught at Cooper School of Art (1957-1977) and Cleveland Institute of Art (1979-1997; Professor Emeritus, 1999). His work has been widely exhibited throughout the country, in solo, group, invitational and juried exhibitions, garnering numerous awards, including First Prize in Painting at the Cleveland Museum of Art, May Show, 1988. Highlights of works in permanent collections include Akron Museum of Art; The Butler Institute of American Art; Canton Museum of Art; Hoyt Institute of Fine Arts, New Castle, PA; Massillon Museum; Pensacola Museum of Art, Pensacola, FL; Richmond Art Museum, Richmond IN; Washington & Jefferson College, Washington, PA; and the Zanesville Museum of Art.

John R. Nativio is a multi-disciplinary artist proficient in sculpture, painting, and drawing. After earning a fine arts degree from Cooper School of Art, Nativio traveled and studied in Europe, where he was granted access to old master drawings in the archives of the Uffizi Gallery. Nativio has exhibited work in regional, national, and international venues, with his most recent commissions of copper sculptures being Panther Across the Ohio Sky (Great Council State Park, Xenia, OH) and American Wood Bison (William Henry Harrison’s Grouseland, Vincennes, IN)—both on permanent display. Nativio’s exhibition, Fragile Balance: A Study in Copper, will open at the Canton Museum Art, April 27, 2027, and run through October 17, 2027.

It was a special pleasure getting to know Anthony Schepis during the planning of this exhibition, and it was with great sadness that I learned of his passing at the end of June. I am greatly honored to show his amazing work in this exhibition, and to represent his paintings going forward.

KENNETH PAUL LESKO GALLERY
1305 West 80th Street
Cleveland, Ohio 44102
kennethpaullesko.com
gallery@kennethpaullesko.com
216.631.6719

EVENTS:

Lineage | Anthony Shepis & John R. Nativio, September 18–December 19. Opening reception 5pm Friday, September 18. Third Friday receptions 5pm, Fridays, October 16, November 20, & December 18