Sat 1/8 @ 11AM-7PM
The Akron Soul Train gallery kicks off its new year of artist residencies with Surreal by Nature, featuring new work of its first two artists-in-residence for 2022. Called Surreal by Nature, the show offers artists Jonah Jacobs and Maria Uhase the chance to share their individual takes on nature.
Self-taught artist Jonah Jacobs layers materials such as oatmeal, plaster, gravel, sand and dryer sheets on cardboard to form organic shapes which he then dips and sprays with dyes. “His abstract surreal pieces are influenced by the gnarls and microscopic structures found in nature,” says the artist statement. “The physicality and how form and function are intertwined in nature is the foundation from which his sculptures are designed.”
Maria Uhase, a recent University of Akron graduate, creates hyper-realistic paintings melded with AI-generated ideas that result in unusual and even oppositional pairings: “depicting ideas which are simultaneously macabre and peaceful, or light-hearted and serious.” She used her residency to experiment with using artificial intelligence to spur creativity which she says “serves as an ironic layer in her work.”
The show goes on view at Akron Soul Train’s Burton D. Morgan Exhibition Space (191 S. Main Street) on Wednesday January 5 and runs through Saturday February 12. There’ll be a day-long open house/reception on Saturday January 8 @ 11am-7pm in order to keep crowds low at any given time and allow for social distancing. Don’t be stupid — wear your mask!