Opening Fri 5/17 @ 5-8pm
Local award-winning artist, writer, curator and professor Dan Tranberg’s latest group exhibition, “Hold the Wall,” seeks to examine current trends in painting. Tranberg should know a thing or two about the subject; he recently wrote the book on it (literally) — Acrylic Fusion: Experimenting with Alternative Methods for Painting, Collage and Mixed Media.
The exhibition is diverse in content, aesthetics and process, but there is a definite common thread running throughout the whole show. While the works themselves may not have been created with the intention of directly commenting on contemporary trends, the title and theme of the exhibition invite viewers to examine for themselves what, exactly, painting — and art overall — is today.
Honestly, this is a brave move in today’s art world. Contemporary artists don’t have a collective aesthetic style or creative process like previous generations. Trying to collectively define contemporary painting is nearly impossible. There are literally hundreds of painting professors around the world teaching thousands of students who are making new work daily… plus the thousands of professional artists working away in their studios making new discoveries every day. I’d argue that the medium has evolved more over the past few decades than it did in the previous few centuries before that, and it is evolving at an exponential rate.
Cleveland State’s painting program is currently in flux. Local art legend Ken Nevadomi is retiring as Professor of Painting at CSU and they have yet to name a replacement. As a recent graduate of CSU, and Painting major, I hope this show helps CSU with their decision.
Artists include Timothy Callaghan, Matthew Childers, Seth Chwast, Harris Johnson, Julie Langsam, Adam Markanovik, Mike Meier, Erik Neff, Dana Oldfather, George Shroeder, CM Sikon, Sarah Sutton, Molly Walker, Royden Watson, Tommy White and Nikki Woods.
Also opening on Friday at the Galleries at CSU are “Art for Hope: Helping Veterans through the Healing Power of Art,” an exhibition by Volunteers of America of Ohio celebrating the creative work of homeless veterans, and “Present and Accounted: A Celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the Cleveland Performance Art Festival.”
Hold the Wall: Trends in Contemporary Art opens Fri 5/17 from 5 – 8pm @ The Galleries at Cleveland State University, 1307 Euclid Ave. in Cleveland. On view 5/17 – 6/22. Additional Hours: Wednesdays and Thursdays 10am-5pm, Fridays 10am-8pm, Saturdays Noon-8pm
Josh Usmani is a 27 year old local artist, curator and writer. Since 2008, his work has been featured in over 50 local and regional exhibitions.
Cleveland, OH 44115