The Lens

Convening Stories at the Crossroads is a site-specific, outdoor, projection-based public artwork that explores intersecting histories and experiences of place. Working in video and sound, artist Diane Fellows weaves together multiple strands and sources to construct enterable spaces and compelling filmic and sonic narratives. Participation, collaboration, and input from community members creates a collage of stories that moves through the landscape, unearthing moments of friction as well as weaving together past and present, town and gown, and urban and rural experiences in Butler County. 

Images and sound overtake the Performing Arts Quad, home to a public sculpture by Ursula... Continue reading Convening Stories at the Crossroads

Chapter 2, A Subtle Farewell to the Inner Child, Gee Horton's second solo exhibition, delves into the artist's exploration of the inner child. Weaving together personal narratives and collective experiences, this exhibition invites visitors to embark on voyages of healing and self-discovery.

Inspired by a soul-stirring pilgrimage to Senegal, Horton's journey commences with a "spiritual cowrie shell reading," unveiling his father's ailing health. This revelation sparks a cathartic quest, enabling Horton to confront childhood traumas and mend fractured bonds. The artist's individual life experience is juxtaposed with the collective narrative of six middle-aged... Continue reading Gee Horton: Chapter 2, A Subtle Farewell to the Inner Child

Continuing his fierce and open questioning of racial and cultural constructs, Zora J Murff presents a new exhibition of artworks titled The Devil Hiding in Plain Sight. In this collection of collages, Murff uses methodologies of enlightened witnessing and appropriation to demonstrate how a global conspiracy of anti-Black genocide has existed and continues to persist through systemic oppression.

Artist Diamond Stingily said, “I think violence is a part of every day for a lot of people. To not live in violence is a privilege.” This is a real political stance, not a radical one. Murff asks all attendees of... Continue reading The Devil Hiding in Plain Sight

Decoding Polaris is a series of mixed-media cyanotypes and installations by Atlanta-based artist Michael Reese. Exploring the celestial mapping of routes to freedom used by enslaved people in the American South, Reese creates new interpretations through cyanotypes, a 19th-century process of camera-less photography. Polaris, more widely known as the North Star, is the focal point of his compositions. Overlaid with astronomical patterns, lines, and the phantom shapes of the southern states, each artwork is a meditation on the boundaries, scale, and elemental tools used to find a path to freedom.

Of Decoding Polaris, Reese... Continue reading Michael Reese: Decoding Polaris

The open call for Undercurrents asks Ohio artists to bring their perspectives to the forefront as they delve into their unique experiences as lens-based creatives. Responding to three questions—Why do you use lens-based media? What is hidden within your work? What are the undercurrents that unite Ohio lens-based artists?—the artists are asked to unearth the histories that helped shape them. Through this group exhibition, ROY G BIV continues to champion emerging artists by providing a platform to increase the public's awareness of their work and creating a space to celebrate and highlight lens-based artwork.