Opening reception on Saturday, February 2, 2008 from 7:00 - 9:00pm

About the Exhibition

The Massillon Museum's "In the Garden" exhibition will highlight eleven contemporary Ohio artists who focus on garden-related imagery in their photographs. In addition, the exhibition highlights the Ohio Arts Council and its Individual Excellence Award program recipients.

The exhibition opens on Saturday, February 2, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m., with a free, public reception in the gallery and lobby of the Museum. The exhibition will continue through Sunday, April 20.

The artists who have been selected are: David Bergholz (Cleveland), Paula Willmot Kraus (Dayton), Judith McMillan (Cleveland), Tony Mendoza (Columbus), Ben Montague (Dayton), Ardine Nelson (Columbus), P.J. Rogers (Akron), Andy Snow (Dayton), David Stichweh (Columbus), Sean Wilkinson (Dayton), and Tennyson Williams (Columbus).

Massillon Museum Executive Director Christine Fowler Shearer has curated the exhibition, with the assistance of Ken Emerick, Director of Individual Creativity for the Ohio Arts Council, and co-curators James Bowling, Artist and Assistant Professor, Otterbein College, and Jane Black, Executive Director, Dayton Visual Arts Center. The exhibition will travel to other Ohio institutions‹Miller Gallery, Otterbein College and Southern Ohio Museum in Portsmouth‹after its eleven-week run in Massillon.

"Gardens appeal to a wide variety of audiences, and gardens tend to evoke memories for all those who enjoy them. Each person who wanders through a garden will take away a different feeling or perception than someone else. In the same way, each artist who focuses on the garden as a theme will approach it in a new way," says Shearer.

The artists have chosen different experiences to share about the concept of gardens. Some images focus on specific flowers or an actual location, such as Beijing or the German Schrebergartens, while other images look at the nests and insects that may be found in gardens universally.

A full-color, 28-page "In the Garden" catalog, including photographs by each artist, will be offered for sale throughout the exhibition in the Museum shop.

The Massillon Museum is located at 121 Lincoln Way East (Ohio Route 172) in the heart of downtown Massillon. For more information, contact the Museum at 330-833-4061 or visit www.massillonmuseum.org.

The Massillon Museum is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. A visit to the Massillon Museum is always free.

Introduction

"In the Garden" is an exhibition that highlights eleven contemporary Ohio artists who focus on garden-related imagery in their work. In addition, the exhibition highlights the Ohio Arts Council and its Individual Excellence Award program recipients.

Gardens appeal to a wide variety of audiences, and gardens tend to evoke memories for all those who enjoy them. Each person who wanders through the garden will take away a different feeling or perception than someone else. In the same way, each artist who focuses on the garden as a theme will approach it in a new way.

The artists included in this exhibition have different experiences or stories to tell about the concept of gardens. Some images focus on specific flowers or an actual location, such as Beijing or the German Schrebergartens, while other images look at the nests and insects that may be found in gardens. Regardless of the subject matter, the images are very beautiful since they are interpreted through different eyes and with different photographic media.

- Christine Fowler Shearer
Executive Director
Massillon Museum

Image identification:
On the main page: Paula Wilmot Kraus, Japanese Fern, 2007, C print
On this page and heading: Andy Snow, Fruits of Labor, 2000, Pigment Print
On this page: Benjamin Montague, Insect #4, 2007, Dry plate tintype