Thu 10/22 @ 5:30-8PM
For the remainder of 2026, Artists Archives of the Western Reserve will have three shows on view in its galleries, each the inaugural show of a newly archived artist who has recently entered its permanent collection.
AAWR says, “While each of these artists’ works is unique in comparison to each other, they do have some overlapping characteristics. Each of them uses a postmodern aesthetic utilizing some appropriation, personal experience rather than objective truth, and collapses the distinction between high art and mass or popular culture.”
Dexter Davis, whose Body & Soul will feature mainly recent works from 2022-26, is familiar to area art lovers from shows in many local galleries as well as institutional such as MoCa. His work blurs the boundaries between collage and painting and drawing, incorporating found elements from his daily life. The show will feature works from the AAWR collection as well as private collectors.
Davis Batz’s A Creative Odyssey features work in AAWR’s collection, mainly his ceramic work, along with sculptural pieces in willow, wood and other natural materials. And Robert Wright’s Civil Disobedience features both works in AAWR’s collection, dating from 2002 to 2023, will 2026 work on loan from the artist, reflecting his interest as a deaf person in expressing music through motion. This series of paintings was inspired the progressive jazz of the 1960s, a period also known for the activism referenced in the show’s title.
The show opens with a free, public reception on Thursday October 22, and will remain on view through December 19