Tangents: Abstract & Geometric Art in Northeast Ohio | 11/2/23 – 12/16/23

Opening Reception: Thursday, November 2, 5:30 – 8:00pm

Show Dates: November 2 – December 16, 2023

Programs: ARTBites / Art in Context – Finding Their way: Abstract Art by Black artists

                      Jennifer Omaitz Curators Talk

Artists:

Gianna Commito, David Louis Cintron, Mark Howard, Mark Keffer, Catherine Lentini, Natalie Lanese, Ed Raffel, Andrew Reach, and Susan Squires

In 1988 Ursula Korneitchouk curated Geometric Abstraction: A Cleveland Tradition. The exhibition was installed at the Lausche state Office building in downtown Cleveland, and included the works of 17 artists – Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA) Faculty, and alumni from all over the USA. This ran concurrently with Richard Anuszkiewicz’s solo  show at the Cleveland Institute of Art.  Later in 2001 The Cleveland Artists Foundation presented Harmonic Forms on the Edge, Geometric Abstraction in Cleveland at the Beck center. Artists like John Clague, David Davis, Samuel Butnik, John Pearson, Ed Mieczkowski and Julian Stanczak were all a part of this last exhibition.

Tangents: Abstract and geometric Art in Northeast Ohio continues on in this tradition by gathering together a collection of diverse and prolific NEO artists who are choosing to work in a nonrepresentational way. While their various works include forays into: Color, optical interplay, mathematics, space, surface, texture, process, and the built environment, all explore their individual pursuits in geometry and abstraction.

Curator Jennifer Omaitz writes,” The idea for this exhibition grew out of a call to action. In the wake of the COVID 19 Pandemic most regional artworks appeared to explore literal pictorial space in painting and sculpture. Questions circulated about who in the area is making design dominant, non-representational work? Why is making abstract work still important? And how can the process of being an abstract artist lead to greater manifestations of perception? This exhibition aims to excite a deeper interest in geometric art and abstraction in the area and inspire more artists to open up their studio practice… The process of making abstract art occupies a rare space. It combines ways of thinking and making that interact with the temporal; sometimes abstraction is minimal and simplified, sometimes optical, and sometimes part of a collaged or combined language. It slows down or abandons the use of literal shapes and forms, often including ad hoc arrangement and disparate elements to engage the viewer in a space where philosophical questions prevail. The work has the power to share the pictorial space of color and surface with sensuality, metaphor, and resonance.” 

About Jennifer Omaitz: jennifer Omaitz is a very well respected artist who teaches currently at Kent State University. She holds a BFA from CIA in 2002,and an MFA from Kent State in 2009.  For more information, please visit her website: www.omaitz.com 

Program information:

ARTBites / Art in Context – Finding Their way: Abstract Art by Black artists

Programming to accompany the exhibition includes a virtual discussion on Wed. November 15th. between Dr David C. Hart, associate professor of art at CIA, and Kerry Davis a respected  collector of African American art from Atlanta, Ga. Their topic of discussion will be centered around Davis’s collection which includes a large number of black artists working in abstraction. This will take place as an interactive conversation between the two men and will also include images shown by Hart referencing works from the Davis collection, followed by a Q&A period between the audience and the panelists. This will be a virtual presentation through ZOOM and registration will be required for viewers, from the AAWR website.

Jennifer Omaitz Curators Talk

On Saturday December 2, Tangents Curator jennifer Omaitz will lead a “Walk & Talk” through the Tangents exhibition, discussing the artists’ work, their practices, and her curation of the exhibition. This will take place in person in the AAWR Gallery from 1-2pm, followed by refreshments. Registration for this talk can also be found on the AAWR website.