Home | The Riffe Gallery | Past Exhibitions
Exhibition Celebrates the Possibilities of Paper
Organized by the Southern Ohio Museum, Portsmouth in collaboration with the Ohio Arts Council's Individual Artists Program, Paper Routes 2000 features work by 13 Ohio Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship recipients. More than 90 works on paper will be on display at the Ohio Arts Council’s Riffe Gallery, August 9 through October 7, 2001. This exhibition is the first in a series of four Riffe Gallery exhibitions that will celebrate Ohio’s diverse and talented artists as part of the Year of the Artist, July 2001-July 2002.
An opening reception will be held Thursday, August 9, from 5-7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
Curator Sara Johnson reviewed thousands of slides of work, looking for a variety of works on paper encompassing a variety of visual arts disciplines including photography, printmaking, computer-generated art, collage, drawing, painting and artist books. The result is a visually stunning exhibition which is as diverse as its artists.
The artists in Paper Routes 2000 vary in age, background, education, gender and race. They also differ in style, technique and concept, but all have two things in common: using paper in their work and receiving at least one Individual Artist Fellowship.
Artists in the exhibition are: Kimberly Burleigh, Cincinnati; Todd DeVriese, Columbus; Masumi Hayashi, Cleveland; Susan Hessler, Columbus; Diana Duncan Holmes, Cincinnati; Charles Kanwischer, Waterville; Kate Kern, Cincinnati; George Kozmon, Gates Mills; Catherine V. Mansoor, Cincinnati; George Mauersberger, Cleveland; Rebekah Modrak, Columbus; P. J. Rogers, Akron; and Thom Shaw, Cincinnati.
Two special events will be held in conjunction with Paper Routes 2000.
On Sunday, August 12 , from 2-4 p.m. the Riffe Gallery will present Family Day with Todd DeVriese . Participants will work one-on-one with Paper Routes artist DeVriese to collage family trees, using unique materials and techniques. The event is free and open to children of all ages and their adult companions.
On Saturday, September 8 , from 1-5 p.m. there will be a Bookmaking Workshop with Susan Hessler . Led by Paper Routes artist Susan Hessler, this workshop will allow participants to create incredible books using unconventional forms. $20 supply fee. Registration is open to adults 18 and over. Registration is limited. For reservations call 614/995-4139.
About the artists:
Kimberly Burleigh uses computer technology to create artificial photograms. The work addresses relationships between society and technology, specifically, how technology is used by terrorists and how surveillance technology is used to counter terrorism.
Todd DeVriese combines collage and printmaking techniques in a series of obelisk-centered work that addresses culture, history and social issues.
Masumi Hayashi makes panoramic photo collages of Ohio's Environmental Protection Agency Superfund sites. The deceptively serene, beautiful landscapes are actually toxic waste dumps earmarked for cleanup. Hayashi re-maps dozens of small photographs of each site, creating large, expanded panoramic views.
In conjunction with her graphic design work, Susan Hessler investigates the book form as a means to explore literature, typography, photography, papermaking, handbinding and package design. Her work focuses on the interplay of structure, texture, images and text.
Photographer Diana Duncan Holmes is represented in the exhibition by the 20-foot installation, Montreal . Using a wide range of materials including silverprints, gesso, paint, waxed linen thread, wire, collage, plastic netting, written text and even a butterfly, the artist created a series of five iconic images tied together with rope.
Charles Kanwischer uses drawing to search for new meaning and form in the tradition of landscape illustration. Kanwischer visits a site over an extended period of time, makes drawings and takes photographs on location and returns to the studio to sift this material through the computer.
Kate Kern creates complicated yet delicate ink drawings of apparent organic life forms, which seem both ambiguous and scientific. Some of her drawings become fodder for book works, others for collage and others remain whole.
George Kozmon encases his large acrylic-on-paper paintings of architectural ruins in heavy metal frames. Using architecture as a metaphor, Kozmon’s work reflects on the passage of time, lost civilizations, the mortality of grand achievements and the transient nature of things.
Catherine V. Mansoor offers a paper dress and jacket heavily marked with graphite and tied to a rock to symbolize the balance between creative heights and practical grounding.
George Mauersberger presents a series of altered self-portraits that illustrate the effects of internal consciousness on the exterior. His pastel and charcoal drawings combine masterful technique with impulsive creativity.
Rebekah Modrak adds a new twist to a traditional form, the portrait bust. Modrak takes color photos of human anatomy and pieces them on three-dimensional muslin forms to create sympathetic yet comical figures. Her bodies investigate the ways that psychological states manifest themselves physically.
P. J. Rogers uses electrostatic monoprints to suggest landscape. Her work focuses on both the layering of ideas and processes and the combining of the visible outer landscape with the emotional inner one, as well as the literal with the symbolic.
Thom Shaw uses the human figure to examine social ills with his Malcolm X Paradox series. Shaw’s huge woodcuts make subtle references art created by the German Expressionists and often work as self- portraits, reflecting issues of his own African-American community.
The 40 page catalog of Paper Routes 2000, made possible with funding from the Ohio Arts Council, was designed by Ruth Leonard, a Columbus graphic designer who is also an Ohio Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship recipient. The full color catalog of the exhibition is available for $10.
Paper Routes 2000 is supported by the Ohio Building Authority. Media sponsors include Columbus Alive, Ohio Magazine and Time Warner Communications.
The Ohio Arts Council's Individual Artists Program recognizes and supports artists as a valuable resource for building communities in Ohio. Opportunities for artists include Fellowships and Professional Development grants, Artists Project grants, Percent for Art commissions and national and international residencies. Grants are available to practicing professional artists who are residents of the state. Fellowships are offered in 12 discipline categories and may be awarded to artists at any stage of their career, from emerging to mature.
The Riffe Gallery, operated by the Ohio Arts Council, 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 gallery is in the Vern Riffe Center for Government and the Arts, State and High Streets, Columbus, OH. Hours are Monday and Tuesday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Wednesday, Thursday and Friday 10 a.m.-8:00 p.m., Saturday 12-8 p.m. and Sunday 12-4 p.m. Admission is free. For information or to schedule a tour call the Riffe Gallery at 614/644-9624.
The Ohio Arts Council, a state agency established in 1965, builds the state through the arts—economically, educationally and culturally—preserving the past, enhancing the present and enriching the future for all Ohioans. The Council believes the people of Ohio should share the arts. The arts arise from public, individual and organizational efforts. The OAC supports and encourages those efforts.
# # #
[top]