For Greater Cincinnati artists: Image request

Professional artists in the Greater Cincinnati region (loosely within 50 miles) are invited to submit an image (one of each of the precise dimensions below, or just one of the two) of their work to be posted indefinitely on the side and bottom of various pages in the main AEQAI journal web site. The specifications are as follows (see image sample to right):

1) an image of an artwork (or a detail) with one of the following dimensions:
161px width by 198px height (right hand side area) or 265px width by 165px height (footer area)
JPG or GIF, no larger than 10KB
1b) your name on the lower part of the image
2) a web address (such as the artist's web site) for us to link.  Please also link back to the journal on your artist web site, however hidden that link may be.

Please email the image and link address to editor AT aeqai.com.  Note that we are at liberty to post it where we wish and for however long the duration; if you find it posted somewhere you do not like, we will remove it.  We will also include it in our Regional Artist Showcase gallery.

If you are an artist without a web site, check out our Construct Website section at the bottom of the For Artists page of the main journal site.

'Narrative Figuration' at the Sandra Small Gallery

The paintings currently hosted by the Sandra Small Gallery are, as per the exhibition title 'Narrative Figuration,' mostly figurative, sometimes with a lone personality, other times in pairs. The ambiguity of the compositions invites narrative interpretations (such as Tim Parsley's The Money Sender and His Wife, 2007). Particular compositional care is also given to architectural spaces. But what stands out in the works is the technical quality of the painting; these painters have skill.

Though young, they follow a long tradition of exemplary masters. One can sense time passed in
devotional study of color, light, composition and anatomy. This knowledge gives depth and strength to even the simplest of compositions. Their youth, though, makes them belong to contemporary life. This signifies the experience of alienation (all aspects), the voyeurism from internet videos, and the isolation of the individual. This contemporary element appears particularly in their compositions; note, for example, in the aforementioned work, how the figures’ heads are missing, giving them anonymity.

Hence their work is an intriguing encounter between the classical (technique) and the contemporary (composition); like the Roman god Janus, one face looks backward while the other forward. The results are rooted yet refreshing.
-A.C. Frabetti

'Narrative Figuration,' featuring artists Rob Anderson, Tim Parsley, Emil Robinson, Jessica Bechtel, Kate Holterhoff and Jamie Oberschlake. The Sandra Small Gallery, 124 W. Pike Street Covington, KY 41011. Through May 1. Curated by Daniel Brown (full disclosure: also a writer for AEQAI).
In photo, Parsley, Tim. The Money Sender and His Wife, 2007. Oil on Panel, 24x48in.

'Everyday' at the CCAC

The particular artist’s theme, or even resulting work, becomes secondary for seeing each one’s opus as both a symbol and product of will in 'Everyday' at the CCAC. In some Modernist works, the act is visible in mark-making; here, like the performances of Chinese artist Tehching Hsieh, it is through perseverance and ritual.

Hence the individual works themselves gain meaning from both the process/whole, and many of the artists appropriately standardize the production size (or display). Nicaise’s textured object sketches make a massive grouping, testament to his commitment. Foran quietly transforms paper through touch, and Calcagno graphs her sentiments, a meditation on her transient emotions. Dillon’s diet reflections are made visible through trays whereas Searcy renders the sky despite the weather pattern. Kauffman’s clothing documentation reminds us of an ‘I’ amidst a transient ego’s daily dilemmas. The zealot of the group, SKIP, uses the minimalist act of applying daily (until, according to the artist, ‘death or physical / mental inability’) a layer of paint to an industrial-sized canvas.

Perhaps most importantly, the artists themselves experienced a meditative state through the process. The resulting work is a shared space of that experience in which we the viewers may partake.
-A.C. Frabetti


'Everyday' at the Clifton Cultural Arts Center, 3711 Clifton Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio 45220. End date: N.D. Featuring artists Heather Calgano, Skip Cullen, Meghan Dillon, Nicole Foran, Liz Kauffman, Kurt Nicaise, and Stacy Searcy.
In photo: Nicaise, Kurt. Selections: Castaways from Everyday Terrain, 2003-2004 (detail). Photo by AEQAI staff.

Garden Sculpture: The Art Academy at the Civic Garden Center

25 sculptural installations are dispersed throughout the landscape of the Civic Garden Center and Hauck Botanic Garden. All are by artists involved in the Academy, either as students, alumnae or instructors. The works vary in size, scope and aesthetic, from geometrical, modernist work to conceptual, narrative installations.

Whether one enjoys the individual works or not, each artist nevertheless invites the visitor to reflect upon some aspect of the garden and the relationship of humanity to nature (or gardenized nature).

The exhibition includes a map of the location of each of the works. The visitor has an important choice here. He or she may survey the space first, encountering the placement of the pieces by chance. This option allows one to experience the individuality of each work as the artist may have wished it without it being specifically 'bracketed' as an artwork. The other choice is to follow the map, noting exactly each work according to its author, location etc. In this way one does not 'miss' anything although risks being too easily 'led.' For the beholder of art is not a passive receptacle, but an active and lively creator of the actual experience: this is a simple case in point.
-A.C. Frabetti

Art Academy of Cincinnati: 25th Biennial Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition, Civic Garen Center, Hauck Botanic Garden, April 4-26, 2009. On Reading Road between Oak St. and Taft Road.
In Photo: Sheri Besso, Protection, (Date: n.d.). Mixed media.

BRINK: Joe Civitello at Semantics Gallery

Frenetic, even harrowing, short cyclical videos dominate Civitello's show at the Semantics Gallery.

One is mounted within a long, black jaggedly broken column in the front room. Three are suspended under a slat-wood canopy in the back area. All display ambiguous imagery, inviting interpretation. One appears to mimic a heart's palpitation, ready to burst from nervousness, while another has a human figure of indiscernible form, struggling somewhat. The images are haunting, their soundtrack menacing and their pacing rapid: his 'brinks.'

A young artist, this is the technological and restless world of a new generation, honestly rendered. He builds these works out of discarded televisions and other such materials, unlike many video installations that utilize new, expensive equipment.

The rhythmic nature of the installation causes its frenetic aspects, in time, to become a quiet, even tolerable, background hum (Civitello's own observation). Hence what was overpowering here at first then reveals itself as the embodiment of a sensitive, observant soul to contemporary urban realities.
It is then that one notices the five photos on the wall. They feature light breaking through darkness, a motif of Christian illumination. For Civitello, and perhaps us as well, they represent hope.
-A.C. Frabetti


BRINK: work by Joe Civitello, Semantics Gallery, 1107 Harrison Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45214. April 4-April 25, 2009. Closing Reception: April 25, 7-10pm. For gallery appointments, contact the artist at civitellojoe@gmail.com.
In photo: view inside Broken Tunnel, mixed media installation. Photo by AEQAI staff.