Thu 7/15-Sun 2/27/22
This week, the Akron Art Museum opens a new show called Continuum: Historical Resonances in Contemporary Art. Its goal is to show how artists today are influenced by historical traditions in arts by pairing five artists working today with artworks from the past.
It’s not clear who the artists of the past are — they don’t share that information in the promotion for the exhibit. The five contemporary artists all have ties to northeast Ohio in some form.
Both Lori Kella and Hildur Ásgeirsdóttir Jónsson are well known in this area where they’re firmly rooted although both are from elsewhere, Kella from Michigan and Jónsson from Reykjavík, Iceland. Both attended art school in NE Ohio, and both have exhibited extensively in the area, as well as elsewhere. Kella constructs tiny worlds, which she then photographs, often commenting thematically on the natural world and threats to it. Jónsson’s large, intricate weavings are inspired by the unique landscape of her home country.
Syrian-born Diana Al-Hadid, who is based in Brooklyn, creates sculptures, panels and works on paper she describes as “somewhere between fresco and tapestry,” that draw from diverse cultures and histories, including the history of the materials. She received her BFA in Sculpture and BA in Art History from Kent State University.
Abstract artist Marcel Rozek, based in Los Angeles, is an Akron native who received his degree from Akron’s Myers School of Art in 2017. His work explores color relationships and the role of transparency in stain painting.
Finally Antwoine Washington, another Michigan native, has the most intriguing background. He earned an art degree from HBCU Southern University and A&M College, where he learned about such black art luminaries as Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett and Jacob Lawrence. But he moved to Cleveland where he worked as a postal carrier for many and, like many black artists lacking connections with influencers in the art world, did his work on the side before taking the plunge to be a full-time artist. He not only continued his work while recovering from a stroke in November 2018 but also founded a nonprofit called the Museum of Creative Human Art to teach graphic design.
The show will be on view through Sunday February 27, 2022.