Riffe Gallery Shows Work from Ohio Artists Abroad
by Lacey Luce

The Ohio Arts Council’s Riffe Gallery proudly presents Connections II: Ohio Artists Abroad, January 24 – April 6, 2008.

Connections II features artwork by 14 artists who participated in the Ohio Arts Council’s Individual Creativity international residencies program, which has long been recognized as a leader in international cultural arts exchanges among state arts agencies.

Over the years the OAC has developed global partnerships, including residencies, with several countries. The artists in Connections II took part in opportunities established in Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. These artists immersed themselves in their host communities and acted as cultural ambassadors for Ohio.

“While the works in the exhibition are the immediate, tangible effects of the artists’ residency experiences, a ripple effect is also in motion across the ocean as the artists expand their new world views through collaborations, teaching and exhibitions,” said curator Wendy Collin Sorin.

“In the fall of 2000 I went to Germany for five weeks through the OAC’s international residency program as the Zygote Press representative for a printmaking exchange between Ohio and Dresden,” said Sorin. “Looking through the prism of that time and place, I chose the artists and the work for Connections II. I found that those who went not as visitors but as observers and chroniclers, and whose work reflected their immersion in the new surroundings, created the most direct, honest and passionate art.”

Connections II brings together a range of work, including printmaking, installation and video.

Connections II is curated by Wendy Collin Sorin and includes work by the following artists: Bruce Checefsky (Cleveland), Gretchen Stevens Cochran (Columbus), Jennifer Craun (Cleveland), Phyllis Kohring Fannin (Lakewood), Nicholas Hill (Granville), Diana Duncan Holmes & Timothy Riordan (Cincinnati), Andrea Joki (University Heights) & Udo Haufe (Dresden, Germany), Michael Loderstedt (Cleveland), Mark Soppeland (Akron), Stephanie Sypsa (Columbus), Kim Vito (Fairborn), and Laila Voss (Cleveland).

Connections II: Ohio Artists Abroad opens January 24 at 5 p.m. with a reception from 5-7 p.m. Gallery hours are Tuesday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Wednesday, Thursday and Friday 10 a.m. – 8 p.m., Saturday noon – 8 p.m., and Sunday noon – 4 p.m. The gallery is closed on Monday and state holidays. Admission is free.

The curator will give a free guided tour of the exhibition to the public on Friday, January 25 from noon – 1 p.m.

The Riffe Gallery will host a free family workshop on Sunday, March 30 from 2 – 4 p.m. Riffe Gallery staff will help children 6 – 17 make an artist’s journal to write and sketch in while they travel through the gallery for inspiration—just as many artists do when they travel to different countries. Registration is required as space is limited, and all children must be accompanied by a registered adult. Register online by March 4.

The Ohio Arts Council’s Riffe Gallery is located in the Vern Riffe Center for Government and the Arts, 77 S. High St., Columbus, Ohio.

For more information: phone 614/644-9624, e-mail riffegallery@oac.state.oh.us or visit www.riffegallery.org.

Image seen here is a detail shot of the installation titled Švejk’s Chess by Gretchen Stevens Cochran, 2001/ 2007, wood, wax, 8” x 80 x 80" photographs (3) 30 x 42" each High resolution images, for use by media, are available upon request. Contact Lacey Luce at lacey.luce@oac.state.oh.us or 614/387-5670.

Free group tours are available Tuesday through Friday throughout the run of each exhibition. To schedule a group tour contact Riffe Gallery Director Mary Gray at mary.gray@oac.state.oh.us or 614/728-2239.

The Riffe Gallery is supported by the Ohio Building Authority; media sponsors include Alive, CD101, City Scene, Ohio Magazine and Time Warner Cable.

The Ohio Arts Council’s Riffe Gallery showcases the work of Ohio's artists and curators, exhibitions produced by the Ohio Arts Council’s International Program and the collections of the region’s museums and galleries. The Riffe Gallery’s Education Program seeks to increase public appreciation and understanding of those exhibitions.

The Ohio Arts Council is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally and economically.

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