Exhibitions

The Animal Kind – An Art Exhibition About Our Relationships With Animals
April 14 - June 4, 2023

Opening reception: April 14, 6 - 9 pm

The Animal Kind, the latest group exhibition at Kaiser Gallery, looks at our human fascination with animals. The exhibition features work by ten contemporary artists from down the street to around the world. The wildly eclectic exhibition displays a wide range of artistic styles, mediums, and subject matter pertaining to animals. A few works that you’ll see include the wearable soft sculpture by Alex Heard, an art book made from African Cheetah fur found in an antique shop by Andrew Mancuso, and the hyperrealistic work of Betz Johnson Richards. Kaiser Gallery will host an opening reception for The Animal Kind on Friday, April 14 from 6-9 p.m. at our location at 2418 Professor Avenue during Walkabout Tremont.

The Animal Kind will be on view at Kaiser Gallery from April 14 to June 4 and features the works of Justin Brennan, Jeff Chiplis, Ross DiPenti, Jessica Glowczewski, Alex Heard, Betz Johnson Richards, Andrew Mancuso, Stéphanie Morissette, Rebecca Tanda, and Kristen Woodward.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

JUSTIN BRENNAN
Justin Brennan is a contemporary abstract painter and mixed media artist. He lives and works in Cleveland, Ohio. Justin has always been interested in art but became serious about his practice in 2005. Mostly self taught, he has relied on trial and error throughout his learning process.

Justin’s artwork is in many private collections internationally and has been mentioned or featured in CAN Journal, The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Scene Magazine,The Sandusky Register and Canvas Magazine. Justin continues to exhibit in art fairs, solo, two person and juried shows and throughout the country. He is represented by HEDGE Gallery located in West 78th Street Studios, where his studio is also located.

STATEMENT
In my paintings I allow myself to be influenced by what or who surrounds me, bypassing self-censoring thought. The work focuses mainly on day-to-day interactions and relationships. The subjects of these interactions are portrayed with ambiguity and anonymity. The aim is to express raw emotion via spontaneous creativity without analytical prodding. Some of the variables that directly affect the work during this process are glimpses of clarity, moments of struggle and the availability of material. The focus or result of this process spans anywhere from straightforward to elusive. I take the complex and clarify it, while allowing the viewer to take away whatever they discover.

JEFF CHIPLIS
Jeff Chiplis is an internationally known artist who creates exotic sculptures with multi-colored neon tubes. He has been a powerful force in the rejuvenation of the Tremont neighborhood and was on the board of directors of the SPACES nonprofit art galley and other organizations.

Because Chiplis builds his work from recycled materials, much of his inspiration comes from the material itself. The photos came from armatures — frames that hold the neon sign — provided by a friend who does sign repair. They came from just where you might think — beer signs. Source: CoolCleveland.com

ROSS DIPENTI
Ross DiPenti is a sculpture artist working outside of Athens, Ohio. His most recent wood sculptures are made using a Japanese burning technique called “yaki-sugi” and are inspired by the natural world and sketchbook drawings kept from his teenage years. Ross is currently enrolled in an Appalachian woodworking program through MakerSpace.

STATEMENT
I’m in the cave making art. All of human history is in the cave with me. At the heart of the cave is the desire to create. Being creative sets humans apart in the world. Observing, experiencing, and utilizing the natural world connects me to that collective human history. My creativity is a continuation from that first moment our ancient ancestors made art. When I approach my craft it is a combination of measured intention and impulsive creation. I like to start by working on the layout, considering ratios and dimensions. Once that is determined I can begin to let go so that I don’t restrain or confine my creative process. Whether I am using a torch to burn wood black, spending time in the forest looking for natural objects, or walking in a riverbed searching for rocks, these are my moments of meditation. Other times I am sweaty and sore and covered in dust, but that physical, laborious activity is one of the things I love about the creative process. That is how I find balance between using my mind and using my body to create.

JESSICA GLOWCZEWSKI
Our culture gives us flawed perceptions of nature, and that has a negative impact on how we understand our relationship with the environment. The challenges we face are complex and nuanced, but media and culture boils them down to black and white concerns. Is culling deer evil or a necessity because we displaced their natural predators? "Bambi" taught us they were cute and harmless but their unchecked populations decimates new forest growth which ruins other animal's habitat and causes stream and river erosion. Is logging inherently bad for the environment? We have learned to love and respect trees yet many forests in Northeast Ohio are reclaimed farmland, planted in monoculture and susceptible to disease. Can sustainable forestry be done to actually promote forest health and protect green space by giving them economic value? I use my art to explore these spaces that I confront professionally in an emotional manner. I hope to convince others to think about environmental and wildlife issues in more nuanced, educated and honest ways.

ALEX HEARD
Alex Heard is a soft sculptor and performance artist working in Cleveland. Their colorful, plush costumes explore a variety of topics both absurd and sincere. They received a BFA from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 2020. Alex performs in the Cleveland area, and has exhibited throughout Ohio.

STATEMENT
Mammalian: This work is a soft sculpture taking the place of an animal companion. The piece is a furry object comprising of weighted limbs. It is meant to occupy the same basic form and space that a small mammal such as a cat would. The object can be pet, held, and placed in proximity to a person to act as a substitute for a pet. The form of the sculpture is geometric yet soft to allow for personality while not resembling any animal in particular. The sculpture also functions as an audio source to allow for more accurate sensory simulation.

BETZ JOHNSON RICHARDS
Betz Johnson Richards attended the Alexander School of Painting in San Diego, California in 1979. Under the tutelage of Alexander Chidichimo, she learned to construct complex color palettes and the art of observational drawing. Betz's love of color and detail continues to define her work. She embraces stark or slightly designed backgrounds to keep the subject as the main focus of her pieces.

Betz's work has been displayed in the gallery at University Circle United Methodist Church in Cleveland, Ohio (2016); Coburn Gallery at Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio (2017); Tin Can Chandelier Gallery in Ashland (2018), Paul Hamlin Interior Design Studio in Cleveland Heights (2018), Uniontown Brewery, Ashland, Ohio (2019), Carrington Arts Show (2020 & 2021), Ashland Community Arts League, 2021, BayArts (2021), and the Mansfield Art Center (2019 & 2022).

Betz also had her works published in the winter issue of Fredericksburg Literary & Art Review (2019) and in the John Brown University (her alma mater) publication Shards of Light, Volume 3, Spring 2020.

Shaker Heights Poet Bill Bewby authored a poem for HeightsArts Ekphrasis (a literary description of art) using "What Are You Lookin' At?" as his inspiration and he included it in his latest book of poetry "Casting."

ANDREW MANCUSO
Andrew R. Mancuso (°1987, Rochester, NY United States) is an artist working in the realms of book arts and photography. He works as the Team Leader of the Preservation Services department at the Kelvin Smith Library of Case Western Reserve University. Andrew is an individual who preserves the past for a living, which informs his experience as a creator. By using an ever-growing archive of found materials to create autonomous artworks, he often creates work using tactics of resurrection, enabling forgotten objects and places to undergo some form of transubstantiation. This allows Andrew to step out of his normal role of mitigating the inevitable progression of time and reinterpret what an object could mean in the future.

His artistic endeavors are investigations into the concepts of ephemerality and preservation; by contesting the division between the realm of culture and the realm of cultural heritage, he tries to reflect on the closely related subjects of history and memory.

The piece, In the Land of the Lion, is a story of rescue and revival, specifically about an African Cheetah fur coat. I had come across a beautiful but tattered coat at an antique shop; it created a deep sadness in me for the animals that were sacrificed for the warmth and fashion of us humans. After talking to the proprietor, we agreed I would take the coat and create something more respectable from it, donating the rest of the fur to the Cincinnati zoo. The outcome was a clamshell box that utilized components of the coat (silk liner, padding, fur) and houses a first edition of In the Land of the Lion (Kearton Cherry, 1929) that features a gilt-stamped cheetah prominently on the cover. Mancuso encourages donations to the Cincinnati Zoo's cheetah program.

STÉPHANIE MORISSETTE
Canadian multidisciplinary artist Stéphanie Morissette holds a Bachelor’s degree in Art History and Studio Art from Concordia University, and a Certificate in Film Screenwriting from UQAM University. She has taken part in several international residency programs, e.g. in Canada (Banff Centre, 2007), Iceland (Straumur Art Commune, 2002), Finland (Tapiola Guest Studio, 2004) and Germany (Pilotenkueche studio, 2018).

Her works have been exhibited in galleries and festivals in Belgium, Canada, China, England, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Poland, Spain, Syria, Turkey, and United States in international events such as MUTEK, Montréal, Canada (2021); 22e Rencontres Traverse Video, Toulouse, France (2019); the International Symposium of Electronic Arts (ISEA), Hong Kong (2016); Women Make Waves Film and Video Festival, Taiwan (2011); and the 10th International Biennial of Contemporary Art of Istanbul (2007). In 2017, she received the Conseil des arts et lettres du Québec (CALQ) Prize - Artwork of the Year - Estrie, for her exhibition Troubled Forest. In 2018, she attended a 3 months residency at the brain imaging company Imeka, which culminated with the creation of Meanders, a virtual reality artwork made in collaboration with Imeka, Sporobole art center and Topo digital creation center. Meanders was finalist at the Numix Prizes 2021. Stéphanie currently lives and works in Sherbrooke, Qc. Canada.

STATEMENT
My research approaches conflict relationships between humans, nature elements and technologies looking into the past, present and future. From politics, psychology, biotechnology, theories on postcolonialism and on decolonisation of nature, I propose a critical gaze on domination relationships. Pursuing an ecofeminist approach in a narrative form tinted with dark humor, I multiply the points of view, avoiding a dominant position in order to invite dialogues. Using a diversity of mediums, I am constantly searching to create movement into my work, either with an evolutive aspect, serial or sequential, with a journey into the physical space of the work or with technology and speed. With an aesthetic that can seem simple and naive, I underline the absurdity of certain subjects or situations to reveal their troubling aspects.

REBECCA TANDA
Rebecca Tanda (b.1994) is a visual artist. With a specific interest in materiality, she re-imagines histories and creates speculative futures around geography, territory and natural history. Rebecca is the recipient of the Charles A. Dana Foundation Glass Scholarship in 2019 and the Lee Woo Sing College Arts & Culture Grant in 2016. She was an artist in residence at Franconia Sculpture Park (2018, USA), the Foundation Fiminco (2020-2021, FR) and at the American Center for Art & Culture Paris (2021-2022, FR). She will be exhibiting in the Ireland Glass Biennale 2023. She works and trains between Zwiesel (DE) and Innsbruck (AT) as a scientific glassblower.

STATEMENT
Through juxtaposing different materials and by working with them in unconventional ways, I strive to create an unclear material-temporality that plays with material expectations and conventions. Aesthetically, my work references folk art, cartography and European mythology to create a sense of familiarity and nostalgia. This visual familiarity is at odds with the materials I use to execute the works. It is this non-alignment between material and aesthetics that I utilize to investigate and reinterpret our relationship to geography, nature, home and non-human kind. Through the physical act of making and a deep material and historical inquiry, I question how do we husband and relate to the non-human beings that we cohabit the earth with, and how can this relationship be mediated through objects?

The small sculpture, titled ‘7th’. This sculpture is part of the ‘a heavy curved incisor’ project; a body of work that synthesizes my research on ivory and materials that mimic this contested material, and ultimately raising deeper questions concerning immortality, preservation and the meaning of materials at different points in time. Combining several mold making and casting techniques, a 3D printed, 1:1 scale elephant molar was created, and a mold made from it. This negative mold was then cast with ivory powder and silicone. This ivory powder* was sourced from antiques bought at flea markets in France, which were then ground into a powder. I wanted to recreate this elephant molar as an attempt to understand and empathize with this animal body. Elephants shed molar teeth throughout their life, usually shedding and growing a total of 5 or 6 in their lifetime. When they produce no new molars it marks that death is near. This shared but vastly different bodily experience between humans and elephants of losing teeth fascinated me, as did the use of reclaimed ivory, which becomes abstracted and ambiguous as a powder.

*All ivory used in this project is sourced from antiques and fall into the category of pre convention / pre- CITES ivory ban.

KRISTEN WOODWARD
Kristen T. Woodward received her BFA in Printmaking from Syracuse University, and her MFA in Studio Art from Clemson University. Her mixed media paintings combine encaustic and print processes, and often utilize found collage materials. Woodward is a Professor in the Department of Art & Art History at Albright College, teaching drawing, painting, printmaking, and gender and the visual arts. Currently, she is collaborating with an environmental biologist to explore tropical ecosystems in Central America.

Woodward serves as is Resident Curator for Artists2Artists.net.

STATEMENT
Woven throughout my artwork over the past ten or more years has been dichotomy in regard to the destructive and creative forces of animal welfare and environmental stewardship. The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted our precarious relationship with wild and domesticated animals. The pandemic has also given me significantly more time to make art. For me, as for many others, it has been an extended time of gratefulness, frustration, curiosity and silent terror. I have become more mindful of my day-to-day activities and relationships. When I finally shut down Zoom, and my phone, nature is waiting.

Solo Show Selection - 2023
June 8 - August 6, 2023

Opening reception: June 9, 6 - 9 pm

Kaiser Gallery is proud to announce Jamie M. Richey as our Solo Show Selection for 2023!

Jamie M. Richey's captivating series, titled "Common Thread," delves into conceptual ideas, contradictions, and double standards through a collection of mixed media artworks. Combining Richey's photography with various materials such as thread, paint, and incorporating collage and text, this series offers a thought-provoking exploration. Richey's creative process involves adding a touch of rawness to her photographs, whether it be through tearing, cutting, or even incorporating soot into the works. The themes within the series are multi-layered, presenting contrasting ideas that often share a common thread, both personally for the artist and in conceptual notions that resonate with the viewer's daily struggles or stimulate existential contemplation.

About Jamie M. Richey
Jamie M. Richey is a Cleveland-based fine art photographer, mixed media artist, and curator. Raised in Northeast Ohio, Jamie earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in film and photography from Elon University and returned to Cleveland to pursue freelance film, photography studio work, and commercial publishing. She later accomplished a Master of Arts degree in Art History with a photography concentration at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Upon graduating she pursued a teaching career in museum education in Savannah, GA, and Dothan, AL during which time she also curated art exhibits with an educational focus. In addition, Jamie continued to exhibit her photography while also working as a production assistant on the occasional indie film.

Firmly planted back in Ohio, Jamie remains active in the curatorial community organizing public exhibits and virtually at jamier-photography.com while steadily building her portfolio with on emphasis in mixed-media as well as black and white fine art photography in various genres including street, nature, travel, and abstract.

Nowstalgia
August 11 - October 8, 2023

Opening reception: August 11, 6 - 9 pm

Kaiser Gallery presents Nowstalgia, an exhibition where artists help us escape the uncertainties of everyday life, drawing inspiration from past decades and infusing them with a futuristic style that feels unique today. Their art captures the chaos of Internet culture, reminds us of a simpler time, and inspires us to move forward.

What is Nowstalgia? It is everything and anything—combining retro-indulgent fantasy with today's instant consumerism lifestyle. Driven by our need for connectivity and escapism, the nowstalgia trend permits us to re-imagine the past, creating a collage of nostalgic references.

TBA
October 12 - October 15, 2023

Opening reception: October 13, 6 - 9 pm

Entwined
October 19 - November 4, 2023

Opening reception: October 21, 6 - 9 pm
We are thrilled to announce the opening of our new exhibit, Entwined.

Entwined explores the theme of connectivity inspired by the natural world and the way we interact with it. The exhibit will feature several artists whose work is connected by a common thread: their interest in nature and its influence on our lives. They have all created pieces that explore this idea in different ways—from sculptures to paintings, from installations to photographs—but they all share a common goal: to show how interconnected we are with each other and with nature as a whole.

This exhibit aims to challenge viewers to think about how they interact with their environment and how it affects them as individuals and as members of society at large. It's an opportunity for us all to consider ways that we can better understand ourselves through understanding nature; how we can improve our relationships with each other through improving our relationships with the natural world around us; how we can come together as people by coming together in appreciation for all that binds us together despite our differences; and perhaps most importantly, what makes us truly human?

TBA
November 10 - December 3, 2023

Opening reception: November 10, 6 - 9 pm

Future Resonance 2
December 8, 2023 - February 4, 2024

Opening reception: December 8, 6 - 9 pm
Future Resonance exhibition seeks to explore technology as an aspect of human expression - how technology can push our thoughts into new horizons while creating avenues for artistic visionaries to express themselves.

The annual art and technology exhibition returns to Kaiser Gallery. This year Future Resonance presents yet another amazing batch of artists and creators who explore the field of sound and light as a universal media. The exhibition is an invitation to explore the ways in which technology and artistic practices converge. See the synchronicity of these artists as they change the way we see the world.

It is not a coincidence that art and technology have been declared as the theme for our annual exhibition. Technology has become a significant part of our lives – it permeates all aspects of it, from entertainment to medicine. With technology quickly evolving into an essential aspect of our lives, technology is no longer considered a novelty or a luxury. Instead, it's becoming a necessity for the human race. Technology has also increased our appetite for artistry because technology feeds the imagination with its expansive capabilities and unlimited horizons - resulting in ever more ambitious creations that give us elevated perspectives on human achievement.

With technology being a necessary part of life, it has also become a source for artistic inspiration. Technology seeps through the boundaries between science and art. It is no longer something seen as separate from or even opposed to art – technology has become one of the most influential forces behind modern art because tech does not simply illustrate an idea, technology makes it happen.

The human interaction with technology is a major aspect of modern art - because technology has become a part of who we are as a people. It is a cultural force that constantly evolves and will continue to do so until there is no distinction between technology and life. Some believe this shift towards technology couldn't have happened without the emergence of digital technology - that technological jump from analog to digital brought about changes in how things were created and experienced, such as sound and light.

Sound & Light: Now more than ever we can understand music and other forms of sound by seeing them – the visual representation of the elements creates a new lens through which we can experience these phenomena.

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Exhibitions