The Schumacher Gallery collaborated with Ohio Representational Arts Collective on Sept. 11 to host a reception for “The Art of Presence: Contemporary Realism,” a new exhibit showcasing sixteen Ohio artists.
The exhibit, which runs through Dec. 5, was curated by artists and Collective members Miriam Baranov and Hiroshi Harakawa, alongside David Gentilini, director of the Schumacher Gallery. Displayed art pieces vary from paintings and sculptures to drawings, reflecting diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds.
The reception marked the official opening of the exhibit, which focused on contemporary realism. The diverse array of art styles and messages sparked conversation among many in attendance.
Columbus resident Mark Bush, a member of the Collective, contributed two pieces to the show. One of them, titled “The Fragile,” took Bush six to eight months to paint. The black-and-white acrylic painting depicted his niece holding a large vase.
“It’s about young people and their innocence being under attack and fragile … [they’re] holding their own burden now more than ever,” Bush said. “The suicide rate in young girls is through the roof after social media … it’s just scary.”
Bush’s work often explored environmental spaces but decided to return to more straightforward frontal portraits to fit the show’s focus.
“One of the nice things about [realism] … [is] people need to stop a little bit and take some time and look at things a little bit longer,” he said. “It’s building on history and building on years [and years] of tradition and different ways of doing [art].”
Among the crowd of art lovers, President Tice and his wife attended the gallery for the first time.
“From a university perspective, [the Schumacher Gallery is] one of the largest galleries in the Columbus area. It’s great for our students to be exposed to this type of art. The diversity of it [is] great for our community,” Tice said. He also praised the permanent collection in addition to the new installation, calling both “phenomenal.”
He added: “When you go to college, it exposes you to new ideas, [cultures], [people]. [One] of the ways that we best express ourselves as a society is through art … I [just] encourage students to … [take] advantage of when the gallery is open — [just] walking through learning about not only the methodology approach, [but also] the individual artists [and] their background.”
Lydia Wicks is another local artist whose art explored the question “What does it look like to remember?”
Lydia’s mother, Joy Wicks, described her first impressions of the gallery and its new additions.
“I think that there’s a lot of history, like with their families or their childhood memories,” she said.
Other artists addressed topics such as the opioid crisis, the simplicity of human experience, the journeys of individuals in the transgender community, mental health in a new digital age and the art of being present in life.
The new exhibit touched many hearts and opened conversations of a whole new color between the art and audience, reflecting Schumacher Gallery’s mission to foster dialogue through its diverse collection.
