Ross Art Museum Showcasing OWU Talent in Delaware

"On and Off The Walls" will be appearing at Ohio Wesleyan's Richard M. Ross Art Museum until January 31. (photo by Tammy Wallace)

Seven members of Ohio Wesleyan University’s fine arts faculty are displaying two- and three-dimensional artworks in “On and Off the Wall,” a multimedia exhibit on display through January 31 at the university’s Richard M. Ross Art Museum in Delaware, Ohio.

Faculty art exhibits are held every two years to showcase the latest works by Ohio Wesleyan professors, who also are accomplished studio artists. Pieces included in the new exhibit range from paintings and photographs to sculptures and ceramics. Take a second to view the works online before going downtown

OWU faculty members participating in the “On and Off the Wall” exhibit are:

• Kristina Bogdanov teaches ceramics, drawing, figure drawing and 3-D design. Included in the new exhibit is “Tea’s Chromosome Chain,” which features 46 porcelain-block-made forms that reflect the building blocks of the DNA chain. “This chromosome chain is my daughter’s personal chain, consisting of 46 different photographic images that are collected from my husband’s and my family albums,” said Bogdanov, who draws inspiration for her works from motherhood and family.
• Cynthia Cetlin teaches metals, 3-D design, art education, and art history. Cetlin has been a member of the OWU faculty since 1987 and notes that this is the first time her pieces in the biennial faculty exhibit have not included metals. Instead she is exploring the medium of sculptural felt. “Watching, feeling the soft fibers transform into solid material was a revelation,” Cetlin said. “While metal is a hard material with limitless possibilities, wool is soft, has a warm, animal scent and seems alive. For me, the objects I have just made evoke living, growing forms, protecting and revealing the earthy-colored forms within.”
• Frank Hobbs teaches painting, drawing, figure drawing and 2-D design. Hobbs said he considers his landscape paintings to be a special type of portraiture. “In any city or small town, decisions are made, or not made, about where to route a highway, to build or demolish a building, to site an industry or exploit a natural resource, to abandon a shopping center, to sell the farm to developers,” he said. “The look of things is beautiful, captivating, and challenging to render, but it is not an accident. The commonplace is enigmatic and alive.”
• James Krehbiel teaches in the 2-D media of printmaking, computer imaging, and drawing. Krehbiel’s pieces represent aspects of his discovery and study of prehistoric sites in the Four Corners region of the United States. “The work in this show is part of a bigger response to finding and visiting the various sites – experiencing the sites first hand,” he said. “Many of the images combine a variety of visual cues utilizing the use of my maps and my field notes. For this exhibition, the final images are all digitally created and manipulated then printed directly from the computer.”
• Justin Kronewetter, director of the Ross Art Museum, teaches art gallery management. Kronewetter’s digital photographs provide partial views of ordinary subjects. “I take particular satisfaction in finding my subject matter among those things that are normally overlooked due to their presumed insignificance,” he said. “Rather than wanting to show everything about a particular subject, I’m more interested in eliminating all but that which I consider to be absolutely essential.”
• Jeff Nilan teaches photography, computer imaging, bookmaking, and 2-D design. Nilan’s pieces include photographs as well as salted paper prints and cyanotypes printed with litho-crayon rubbings as negatives. “Growing up in Nebraska, my art draws influence from my roots and upbringing, as well as the present landscape and culture of the Midwest,” Nilan said. “I am interested in the ways that art reflects and shapes the mythology of a region.”
• Jonathon Quick teaches sculpture and 3-D design. Quick describes his latest sculptures as a mix of drama, art, and magical transformation of materials. “The work I have in the faculty show has its origins in the foundry process and is a direct result of my technical research,” Quick said. “Objects of domesticity, toys and games are the subjects for these pieces and each one represents the irony and undertones of culture.”

The Ross Art Museum is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The museum is closed Mondays and Saturdays. It also will be closed from Dec. 18 through Jan. 18 for holiday break. Admission is always free.

OWU’s Richard M. Ross Art Museum is located in Delaware’s old post office on South Sandusky Street just south of City Hall. For more information, call (740) 368-3606 or visit rossartmuseum.blogspot.com.

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