Artist Heather Jones became curator at The Contemporary Dayton
Credit: Hannah Kasper
Credit: Hannah Kasper
Heather Jones debuted her role as Curator and Director of Programs and Engagement with a mid-career survey of Columbus-based painter Laura Sanders. With the artist’s daughter as muse, we observed the protagonist move from childhood through adulthood.
The exhibition merged landscape with figurative painting to evoke both youth and a growing awareness of the male gaze, lending a vulnerability to settings of both crowded lakes and unpeopled forests. From a distance the paintings appeared photorealistic, but up close the lush application of textured paint revealed the intriguing physicality of the work. With references to historic paintings like Manet’s “The Luncheon on the Grass”, and contemporary symbols of environmental decay, Sanders’ paintings suggested both fragility and lost innocence.
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Work by sculptor and audio producer Susan Byrnes was highlighted in “Susan Byrnes: Lightness and Weight”. The installation, which included cast bronze animal bones combined with the airiness of hanging petticoats, reflected contrasting cultural influences while reflecting on themes of individual freedom versus societal expectations, and the resilience of the female body.
A curatorial project by artist Zachary Armstrong filled The Contemporary Dayton’s side gallery with drawings, paintings, sculptures, and ceramics that he secretly gathered from his father, artist and educator George Armstrong. The craft revival pieces represented artifacts of a life devoted to creativity and family. Displayed on handmade wooden shelves and vitrines, pottery and domestic imagery were imbued with warmth and a devotion to the love of the craft, illustrating the profound influence Armstrong had on his sons, who grew up to become artists in their own right.
Ed Dixon Gallery
Ed Dixon, who runs a commercial gallery a stone’s throw from RiverScape MetroPark, gathered artists for a fifth incarnation of “We’re Doing It All Wrong”, a juried group show aiming to address issues that, according to Dixon, “have persisted in cultures, institutions, organizations, religion and government for far too long”. Artists created work around women’s rights, the environment, homelessness, and prescription drug prices.
To promote dialogue, Dixon organized artist talks and a non-profit night where attendees could learn about these issues and how to get involved in the community. On the gallery’s website, there is a page dedicated to choosing a “Call To Action”, with links to local public service and community engagement opportunities ranging from grassroots political action to environmental preservation.
A range of media was represented, with a focus on digitally altered images. Don Manderson’s “Tempest”, inspired by the artist’s “subconscious and dream state” reconciled with the “relentless sensory bombardment” that he experiences in our media-saturated society, depicted a storm-ravished oceanfront surrounded by hi-rise apartment buildings.
Dutoit Gallery
Credit: Contributed
Credit: Contributed
The Dutoit Gallery opened in Front Street in 2016 as a co-op art gallery showing painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, installation, and fiber art. The space features both solo and group exhibitions throughout the year.
Sarah Shanks’ “Where We Sat in the Sun” showcased a collection of paintings inspired by family snapshots from the 90s — memories of simple moments embodying the warmth of the sun, the coolness of water, and the carefree joy of childhood as remembered by the artist. They reflected playful, quiet moments of “connection and light”. The abundant natural light of the gallery combined with the crisp edges of the paintings seemed a beacon of summer. A collection of color studies was available for viewers to peruse.
Springfield Art Museum
Credit: Contributed
Credit: Contributed
Running through March 2026 at the Springfield Art Museum is “Unearthing: Searching Through Strata”, a survey of work by New Orleans-based, former Springfield resident Anita Cooke. The exhibition traces a 20-year creative journey beginning when Hurricane Katrina buried the artist’s clay studio in the Louisiana mud.
Before the storm, Cooke was a ceramic sculptor and functional potter. In the wreckage of Katrina, she unearthed her Aunt Genie’s 1950s Singer Featherweight sewing machine. This discovery sparked a profound shift in her artistic medium and method. Using the sewing machine, Cooke began stitching together intricate textile constructions.
Cooke’s complex work evokes loss and finding, chaos and order, and searching for meaning in what remains.
The Weston Gallery put on exhibits worth a day away
Credit: Contributed
Credit: Contributed
A bit further afield, former Contemporary Dayton curator Michael Goodson took over the reins at The Weston Gallery in Cincinatti. It’s worth the drive to check out the thought-provoking contemporary art exhibitions from this curator who champions regional and world-renowned artists. Here are some highlights from the past year.
“Inflammatory Essays” by Jenny Holzer and “Grounded” by Emily Hanako Momohara were two exhibitions that ran concurrently to create a powerful dialogue on violence, identity, power, and memory.
Holzer, an art world darling since the 1970s, presented 100-word paragraphs printed on over 400 brightly colored backgrounds, arranged floor-to-ceiling in a grid formation. The texts drew their language from anarchists, dictators and revolutionaries to confront issues of power, social control, abuse, consumption, sex, death, and disease, in language that felt both ominous and provocative.
Credit: Contributed
Credit: Contributed
Momohara’s “Grounded” presented portrait photographs of Asian American and Pacific Islander women and families holding photos of their migrant ancestors, with U.S. locations significant to their history shown in the backgrounds. The effect was a layered portrayal of identity, immigration, and generational memory. “Grounded” aimed to elevate immigrant narratives and challenge stereotypes surrounding AAPI women, connecting personal history to place and legacy.
Credit: Hannah Kasper
Credit: Hannah Kasper
Clive Moloney, an Irish artist based in Cincinnati, presented a solo exhibition titled, "Between Trees”, utilizing woodland materials including wild clay and animal bones to create a visual mythology of a “more-than-human” world. Works evoked cycles of life, ritual, and reverence for nature. The carved spiral of “Rewild”, made of foraged clay, evoked time and mortality. A hollowed-out tree trunk was transformed into a gold-leafed container for a miniature forest of rescued native saplings, elevating the natural material to an almost sacred status.
Each artwork quietly sang in a meditative voice, acting as a collaboration between Moloney and the flora and fauna of his Ohio surroundings.
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