Fri 9/11 @ noon
The Akron Art Museum’s spacious new building opened in 2007, allowing it to display more of its strong collection of post-World War II American art, especially photography and show visitors it had more than just that darned Lari Pittman painting with the awkward-sounding name. But this wealth of treasures is still unexplored by many Clevelanders.
So the museum is bringing some of its iconic works up north, to the Transformer Station in Ohio City. That show, Choice: Contemporary Art from the Akron Art Museum, will display such works as El Anatsui’s “Dzesi II, 2006” (pictured), a massive wall tapestry woven from bottle caps that foretold the current recycling/upcycling craze in art.
Other artists in the show include Cleveland op-art specialist Julian Stanczak, sculptor George Segal, painter David Salle, and University of Akron professor, painter Matthew Kolodziej who showed frequently at the former William Busta Gallery.
“Choice is also part of an extensive community engagement initiative that shares the museum’s collection with communities outside of Akron, and invites the public back to the museum to further experience the museum’s collection, world-class architecture and its new public garden space,” says Akron Art Museum CEO/executive director Mark Masuoka in the show’s press release.
The selection of a Cleveland venue was not random. The Transformer Station was founded by northeast Ohio collector/patrons Fred and Laura Bidwell and is run by the Fred and Laura Ruth Bidwell Foundation; the Bidwells have also been actively engaged with the Akron Art Museum as board members, donors and exhibit sponsors.
“We’re very excited to see some of the great works of the Akron Art Museum in a new context and seen by new audiences,” said Laura Bidwell of the Transformer Station show. “We hope that this show will persuade many who are unfamiliar with the Akron Art Museum to make the short trip to see one of Northeast Ohio’s most wonderful cultural treasures.”
The exhibit opens Fri 9/11 and runs through Sun 12/6. There is a members reception Sat 9/12 from 5-7pm and a public reception from 7-9pm. The Transformer Station is open noon-5pm Wednesday-Friday and 10am-5pm Saturday and Sunday. Admission is free so you really have no excuse.