Abstract Artist Working in the Realm of Digital Media
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Embracing the healing arts in new patient tower
From the Summa Health Website:
“The new patient tower on the Summa Health System — Akron Campus embraces Summa’s commitment to promoting a healthcare environment that surrounds and connects patients, visitors and staff with the healing powers of the arts.”
Incorporated into the building is the Healing Arts Gallery and ongoing exhibitions will feature work by the artists in the Healing Arts Collection where artworks by 53 artists with ties to Northeast Ohio are placed throughout the building, myself being among them.
The second exhibition in the Summa Gallery features Lee Heinen, Diane Pribojan, Andrew Reach, Nancy and Ned Seibert and Maria Zanetta.
“Navigating the Pandemic” showcases the distinctive perspectives of local artists during an unprecedented time of social distancing and isolation. These selections by five artists in our Healing Arts Collection explore the impact of COVID-19 on an artist’s practice, reflecting the influence of the pandemic on the human psyche. Through the diverse use of mediums, scale and subject matter, each artist takes viewers on a journey of self-discovery through an unforgettable time in our history.
Because of Covid-19, with the gallery being located within the hospital, the gallery is not currently open to the general public. The feedback from those in the hospital has been very positive, providing a place of respite and lifting spirits to patients, doctors, nurses and staff during these difficult times.
All works of art are for sale. To purchase a piece of art,
email [email protected] or call 330.375.3159.
Special Thanks to Meg Harris Stanton for curating and organizing the exhibition and Kim Kwiat and team at Vista Color Imaging for printing and fabricating of the artworks.
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Below are my five artworks in the exhibition
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These works are Euclidean geometric abstractions where vibrant color infuses energetically optical geometric constructions. My creative process is challenged as I consider the material and the ability to shape by cutting uv cured inkjet prints on composite aluminum.
What I hope to express to the audience viewing them is a sensory experience of optical joyfulness and their constructs become a visual language for me to express energy, movement and freedom.
The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic has unexpectedly heightened my creativity. Disabled from a spine disease, pain is my constant companion and treatments I received on a regular basis were temporarily cancelled. The challenges I face every day with coping got harder as episodes of even greater debilitating pain and immobility ensued. Anxiety and fear of the pandemic added to these challenges. Creating art is therapeutic, now during the pandemic than ever. When technology, intellect and imagination come together in just the right way, I feel an indescribable sense of well-being and for moments, I am taken away from all the worries and stresses of the unprecedented times we live in and am lifted from physical restraint to unlimited spiritual potentiality.
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The new patient tower on the Summa Health System — Akron Campus designed by Hasenstab Architects features 90 unique pieces of art by 53 artists, all with Northeast Ohio ties. I’m honored that my work “Ninety One Kites” is part of this collection.
From the Summa website:
“Summa Health promotes a healthcare environment that surrounds and connects patients, visitors and staff with the healing powers of the arts.”
Click here to learn more about the artwork “Ninety One Kites”.
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This work is inspired by Islamic art in my own modern way. It is constructed with nine rings of eight Khatim-Sulayman stars. Khatim-Sulayman stars are eight pointed stars that first began to appear in Islamic art in the middle ages. Khatim-Sulayan means “seal of the prophets” and are known to denote life, from birth to death. The eight pointed stars would continue to appear symbolically in spiritual traditions in many cultures around the world through history.
Here, each star is constructed with eight kites. When put together, the eight kites inscribe another eight pointed star in its center. Inscribed within this ring of eight, eight pointed stars, is a large eight pointed star with an octagon at its center. Also, inscribed in the interstitial spaces between the nine rings are four more large eight pointed stars and octagons.