Life in the City 2020 Exhibition

We are delighted to announce our 2020 "Life in the City" guest juror is world-renowned photographer, Gary Beeber.

"Gary Beeber is an award-winning American photographer/filmmaker who has exhibited in galleries and museums throughout the United States and Europe. His documentary films have screened at over 85 film festivals. Solo (photography) exhibitions include two at Generous Miracles Gallery (NYC), the Griffin Museum of Photography, and upcoming exhibitions at PRAXIS Photo Arts Center, and the Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts which will travel to several cities. Beeber’s work has also been included in juried exhibitions throughout the world. Among Fortune 500 companies who collect his work are Pfizer Pharmaceutical, Goldman Sachs, and Chase Bank." - garybeeber.com

New this year, Front Street will transform the courtyard into an outdoor gallery space, allowing for open-air and social distancing. Please remember to bring your mask. Hand sanitizer and disposable masks are available throughout the complex. Should there be inclement weather, the exhibit will be moved indoors.

Opening Night: August 7, 2020 | 5 PM - 9 PM

Closing: August 16 | 11 AM - 4 PM

1001 East 2nd Street | Dayton Ohio 45402

1st Place

Nicholas Dailey

Title: "Empty Streets"

Medium: photography, cotton 3mm paper

Dimensions: print 11" x 14," matted and framed 16" x 20"

"As the warm spring sun setting, the streets are dark and bare due to the current circumstances. Thankfully the city still looks beautiful as ever."

My name is Nicholas Dailey and I’ve called Dayton my home for my whole 31 years. I love the Gem City and all it has to offer. I first picked up a camera on vacation to Alaska back in 2012 and ever since, it's been attached to my hip as I try to grow and evolve and show others what this planet has to offer. I use photography to get out in nature and unwind from the stress and strifes of everyday life that surrounds us. It's a wonderful outlet as art is subjective so I can make it my own.

2nd Place

Rusty Harden

Title: "The City Never Sleeps"

Medium: acrylic

Dimensions: 5" x 7"

"Having been raised in either small towns or rural settings, I’ve always been enchanted with the night lights of the city. So many lights…seemed like another world to me. “The City Never Sleeps” depicts the outsider entering the city where the lights draw her in. I cannot separate my art from my life. I live the way my art exists. Even when it means nothing it means everything. This style of working in acrylics has a random element for each piece. I enjoy the uncertainty of whether the finished piece will match my expectations or will be added to a rework pile. Either way, I’m pleased with the process."

Alexandria Harkless

Title: "Bleu Glaze"

Medium: pottery

Dimensions: approximately 7" x 2"

"I've been dabbling in throw, coil, and slab pottery for a little over 14 years now, on and off, and whenever inspiration is hitting. I create as often as I can, because it brings me solace, peace, and happiness, in multiple facets of life.

I find my muse or inspiration in all kinds of music and nature, everywhere and always. They are a necessary escape to get me into a creative mode. This particular piece is made of clay, with a bleu rutile glaze. It is roughly 6-7 inches across, and 1-2 inches deep."

Bill Woody

Title: " Dance in the Sanctuary"

Medium: Photography, archival inkjet

Dimensions: 22" x 26" Framed

Bill Woody is a photographer from Beavercreek, Ohio, who has been pursuing his art since 1970. His photographic pursuits include Early Mornings and Abandoned Places. Bill is past president of Dayton’s Tripod Camera Club. He has taught workshops on photography in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Florida, and Arizona, and has been a juror for many photography exhibitions. His first one-man show was in Beavercreek in 1995. His prints have been displayed in shows across the country for several years.

"In 2018 I presented a show in a local gallery which was in an old industrial building. I chose the theme for this show to be “Dance and Beauty in Abandoned industrial Spaces”. A visitor to the show asked, “have you ever photographed a dancer in a church?” Well, no, but I would love to. She invited me to do two things: 1) to have a show in Grace United Methodist Church, and 2) to photograph a young liturgical dancer in that place who was a member there… if we could arrange it. This photograph is one result of that collaboration."

Cathy Jeffers:

Title: "Voices of the Streets"

Medium: Textile

Dimensions: 19.5" x 39"

"l am a former art teacher who has enjoyed working in textiles since l was a teenager. I was a serious weaver before l became a quilter. Recent events are reflected in my "Voices of the Streets" quilt. Neighbors are talking to neighbors, and in some cases, BLM messages have been taken to the streets. This art quilt is pieced in a traditional method, but the colors and black and white writing looking fabric energies the message. This is a sister to another work of mine currently on display at Basil's On Market, in Dayton Ohio. My color choices in this quilt are more earth tones, a contrast to my brightly colored quilts."

Christy Veres

Title: "Woodlawn Angel"

Medium: acrylic on stretched canvas

Dimensions: 16" x 20"

Christy's Bohemian Folkstyle is well mixed with her refurbishing of materials such as wood, metals, and canvases to produce her artwork. She works with a variety of mediums, including acrylic, woodburning, carving, etching, watercolor, oil pastels, chalk pastels, colored pencils, alcohol inks, clay, and more.

Clarice Moore

Title: "Sunflowers"

Medium: oil on stretched canvas

Dimensions: 30" x 24"

"Sunflowers" is a celebration of color and light inspired by one of natures most lovely creations; the airy elation of a summer's afternoon. This feeling is captured beautifully by award-winning artists Clarice Moore, native to the Dayton area. She has been plying her trade locally and nationally for upwards of 40 years.

Emily von Stuckrad-Smolinski:

Title: "Mimi and Stuart Rose Auditorium"

Medium: photography

Dimensions: 16" x 16"

"Art has always been an escape for me. I have dabbled in a variety of mediums, but photography and oil have always been my favorites. The tools for photography have changed so much in the past 25 years or so of shooting. This particular shot was taken with my trusty old Pentax. This photograph is of the newly renovated Mimi and Stuart Rose Auditorium at the Dayton Art Institute. This is "my office" as the Production Stage Manager in the space, and truly is "the best seat in the house." This particular piece was done right after the renovation of the auditorium. We did not have any real photos of the house. Typically, when a theatre is photographed it is taken from the house looking at the stage. However, this angle is what I see what I walk in every day and it's just a joy to turn the lights on and lookout. Everyone needs to see that!"

Jon Daugherty

Title: “The Side of the Front”

Medium: pastel

Dimensions: 5" x 7"

The piece titled “The Side of the Front” exhibits Jon Daugherty’s love for the city of Dayton and the art of soft pastel painting.

This scene is at The Front Street Buildings as the sun falls over the city in a wash of color and light.

Judd Plattenburg

Title: "A Great Dayton Adventure"

Medium: photography - printed with UV inks on brushed aluminum. A layer of white ink is laid under the color ink in certain areas to enhance the highlights.

Dimensions: 23" x 16"

"Life is a journey.....it moves fast without looking back and other times slows down with a breathtaking view. I’ve always loved the ability to freeze slices of life in images, full of emotion, beauty, tension, or whatever you see at that split second. My name is Judd Plattenburg, and I am an avid paddler, printer, and photographer. This is a picture from my kayak, paddling into Dayton at sunset on the Mad River as the fountains are going off. It’s a great Dayton adventure."

Katie Clark Gabbard

Title: "Bumble Bee Grocery Day"

Medium: acrylic

Dimensions: 36" x 56"

Katie Clark Gabbard is an emerging artist that used to be a florist. She uses her artwork as a way to ask simple questions about modern society and nature. Her painted stories combine vivacious colors, familiar imagery, and doses of intriguing textures. The piece, Bumble Bee Grocery Day, takes viewers on an exuberant visit to the market from the viewpoint of a popular pollinator.

Kelsey Daugherty

Title: "Intertwined"

Medium: photography

Dimensions: 18" x 22"

"I love to use multiple exposures in photography to illustrate how my brain organizes information. My mind sorts through what I see and complicates what I remember. Some things stick out and others disappear. Over time, I have found that there are many people with minds like mine. I have learned to live with my complicated brain but it is always an adventure to remember what I see."

Kim Ceccarelli

Title: "French Girl in a Bonnet"

Medium: Pastel on Mi Teintes Paper

Dimensions: 18" x 15"

"My artwork starts from direct observation and I paint from life. I study the interplay of color, shape, and light as I try to bring the viewer into the scene I am creating. I am basically a self-taught artist and I use my previous experiences as a registered nurse as inspiration, to convey through my art, my appreciation of life around me.

My pastel painting "French Girl in a Bonnet" is a slice of life that catches a young girl strolling among flowers and trees. This painting conveys the hope that though life for us may not return to its previous state, we can still find beauty in nature as we wait for our lives to improve. My current feelings and anxiety during this pandemic time may just be a reservoir for future ideas. I will use this most precious time to learn new things and practice compassion...not only for others but for myself also."

Lori Daugherty

Title: “Future Tense”

Medium: copper and salts

Dimensions: 11.5” x 11.5”

"As an artist, I find magic in alternative processes and techniques; I enjoy the experimentation, the anticipation, and the unique application.

The fascinating bustle of daily “Life in the City” can all come to a sudden stop when a city is under threat.

In my dreams, I see a future city, capable of camouflage and protecting itself from the many evils and sickness of the world."

Lorna Jahn

Title: Isolation (Dayton, OH April 17, 2020)

Medium: photography

Dimensions: 11" x 17"

"I am a Fine Art Photographer. I started taking pictures of Dayton in the late eighties. Since then, a lot has changed in my life and the life of the city. The Pandemic gave me the opportunity to roam around the city when it was empty. It felt like coming home to me. "Isolation" is a representation of the City during the isolation of the Pandemic. Like the red of the chair the heart of the City is vibrant and though worn is still vital."

Margie Grove

Title: "Shapes of Masks"

Medium: fused glass

Dimensions: 9" x 7"

"During this time of uncertainty, I find myself wondering if face masks truly help. The holes in this piece represent the uncertainty in today's pandemic.

Marsha Pippenger

Title: "The Body is Electric"

Medium: collage on canvas

Dimensions: 40" x 16"

"The Body is Electric" implies more than the physical body. It is the body of city life, its movement, and vibrancy, the hum of people going about their activities that contribute to the overall "electricity" of the pace of city life. I took this theme of the electric life and translated it into the body electric by using neon/electric colors and showing the body in active movement.

Like many artists I am compelled to create; I cannot not create. It's as natural as breathing. I am moved by things I read, by current and historical events. I like to work within a theme so I can push it and stretch it in as many ways as I can."

Pam Geisel

Title: "My Soul in a Blackberry Pie"

Medium: quilted fiber

Dimensions: 19" x 28"

Pam Geisel grew up in Dayton, Ohio spent her first career as a graphic designer. Her quilts often have a strong graphic quality and she incorporates machine piecing, machine raw-edge fusible applique, and machine quilting including free motion quilting.

"As the pandemic continues and traveling is difficult and unsafe, people are focusing their efforts on their yards and gardens. My fabric garden can be seen beyond the window frame, where a blackberry pie is cooling. It is summer in the city."

Rhonda Doyal

Title: "Hotdog in the City"

Medium: printed on polyester and quilted

Dimensions: 15.25" x 9.25"

Ronnie is from the southwestern part of the United States and her art often reflects those roots. She is a self-taught artist; drawing inspiration and influence from every aspect of life. Currently, Ronnie lives in Dayton, OH where she is a partner in a photography business that specializes in Fine Art Reproduction. Additionally, she displays her own work in the Gallery UpStairs along with managing the Leopold Morgus Art Gallery in the Front Street Buildings.

Stephanie Johnson

Title: "Peace Divas"

Medium: digital charcoal and ink

Dimensions: 11" x 14"

I began teaching myself digital photo manipulation six years ago and started working on my own photography in the past two years. Over the last year, I have begun working with my own original digital art so I'm very much a novice. This particular piece, "Peace Divas", was inspired by and based on a photograph I took in Columbus last fall. I try, in all of my work, to capture the beauty in the small ordinary moments and objects that we often do not notice.

Tatjana Sogorov

Title: "The View from a Window"

Medium: colored wax crayons and pressed charcoal

Dimensions: 11.5" x 7.5"

"I am an international artist from Serbia. This is a drawing I made during my studies at the Faculty of Fine Arts. It's a view from the window."

Victoria Foor

Title: "Pear Still Life"

Medium: oil on board

Dimensions: 12”x 16”

"When I was in college I took an oil painting class and was hooked ever since. During the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown I wanted to expand my skills and deepen my understanding of art. What better way than with still life painting. In this piece, I played with light and shadows for a moody setting. I feel this is true with many people's emotions during this time and I wanted to capture a piece of it."

Winfred Taylor

Title: "My First Love and True desire"

Medium: oil on canvas

Dimensions: 40" x 30"

"I am a 56-year-old African American artist born in the Dayton area. I started creating at an early age. I was encouraged by my mother who would bring home paper for me to draw on and my little brother who would insist on modeling. Creating became a form of therapy as I transformed negative life experiences into my version of tranquil beauty. I use trips, memories, and places I might want to be for my inspiration.

Life in the city to me is dealing with the wonders and pitfalls of city life as well as sometimes escaping its physical and mental confines."

Download the 2020 "Life in the City" catalog here.