Fri 12/19 @ 5 – 9pm
Just as one person’s trash is another’s treasure, the same can be said for dilapidated and vacant buildings that do nothing more than remind us of a mid-20th century industrial boom that has since fallen on hard, rust-belt times.
Someone familiar with Cleveland’s graveyard of buildings, invariably stripped of life years ago – and copper more recently – is artist Hilary Gent, who immersed her artistic talents around representing industrial and organic landscapes becoming one entity.
It’s this same aesthetic that will be explored in the upcoming exhibit Dwelling, which takes place in Gent’s HEDGE Gallery. On display will be Gent’s work alongside the efforts of Canadian artists Catherine Beaudette and Christopher Kier.
CoolCleveland talked to Gent about the unique exhibit, which opens Fri 12/19 and runs through Sat 2/7 in the 78th Street Studios venue.
CoolCleveland: How did the Dwelling exhibit come about?
Hilary Gent: I’m personally excited to show with these two artists. I’m an oil painter, and it’s always exciting for me when I get to exhibit in my own space, but it’s also exciting to find two other artists whose work complements the same subject matter when it comes to landscape in general. Our colors are coordinating. Our subject matter and our series we’re working on right now are coordinating, and that’s just kind of a fluke. So it’s intriguing that way.
Can you elaborate on the shared subject matter?
We’re all focused on kind of the social and political aspects of the urban landscape. So Catherine’s series is called Global Cities, and she’s looking at the places we inhabit and redevelop. Christopher’s work is more focused on different types of homes and structures that were built throughout the 19th and 20th century. This is more about the graphic lines and the way the structures have changed as history has kind of redeveloped.
And then my work is focused on the urban landscape, which is very typical for me but it’s a series where I’ve broken into a few different forms of abstraction. So my work isn’t as conformed to housing and buildings, although I still represent that. It’s moving into a further like abstract distinction.
Why is Dwelling a perfect fit for the HEDGE Gallery?
I think the fact that our building, the 78th Street Studios, has such a deeply rooted history when it comes to the architecture and those who inhabited this space. So for me to host a show that is about where we dwell where we work, live and play — that all of the work is focused on those subject matters — kind of relates back to the place I inhabit and dwell just about every day here at the gallery at 78th Street Studios. There’s just so much history here, and the work that I’m going to be showing also has to do with history and how redevelopment and change affect the places we live and work.
It almost seems as though 78th Street Studios imbues Dwelling?
You could say that, definitely. The studios have grown in such multitude just in the past year, they’ve expanded and creative growth just continues here. So I think too with our commentary on the urban landscape and its changes, the one thing to keep in mind is the old structures will always have this continued life in them, whether we knock them down or repurpose them into spaces. They’ll always have that kind of new life in there that can be redeveloped.
Finally, what’s something you hope folks take away from the Dwelling experience?
I paint my urban environment, I paint the environment around me and I know that’s what the other two artists are doing as well. I think to realize the importance of this city that we live in and embrace and to continue to try to find the good even in like some of the roughest neighborhoods. That’s honestly where most of my work has stemmed.
I always painted abandoned buildings and structures and big, empty signage and things like that because I thought there was a glimmer of hope that it could be reconstructed or redeveloped into something. I know the other artists, too, especially with our color and blocking, we’re seeing hope in new life and re-growth. I hope people kind of take that glimmer of hope.
The opening of Dwelling takes place from 5 to 9 p.m. Dec. 19 at the at 78th Street Studios, 1300 West 78th Street, Suite 200, Cleveland. DJ Robbie Fresh will be spinning while Cleveland Whiskey will have a tasting table.
Freelance writer John Benson spends most of his time writing for various papers throughout Northeast Ohio. When he’s not writing about music or entertainment, he can be found coaching his two boys in basketball, football and baseball or watching movies with his lovely wife, Maria. John also occasionally writes for CoolCleveland.com.
Cleveland, OH 44102