Art pilgrims have found themselves congregating - perhaps unexpectedly so - in Cincinnati. New directors at the Contemporary Arts Center and the Cincinnati Art Museum have made wild improvements to their institutions. Even the stuffy old Taft Museum of Art has adapted to current trends, adding forward-thinking exhibitions and whimsical festivities to its calendar.
These changes have most assuredly been the catalyst for a new wave of Cincy art explorer. But what these visitors soon find out is that museums are not the Queen City’s only venues to check out great art. Small but captivating artist-run galleries convene in places most locals would never even bother to look. New spaces tackle compelling new work, venturing far outside of the city’s borders to find au courant art-stars. Even the established galleries are pushing forward, dazzling guests with fresh exhibitions in all matter of media.
Don’t fret about getting lost chasing the latest neighborhood gallery. Don’t be put off by the pomp at august institutions. And don’t be intimated by the stark white walls of the trendiest avant-garde spaces. That’s the thing about Cincinnati: All are welcome to explore its art treasures.
Mount Adams
A trip around the arts scene must begin with a stop at the Cincinnati Art Museum. Located high atop Mt. Adams, where vertiginous cliffs, killer views and stately row houses conjure images of San Fran, the museum routinely brings sought-after exhibitions to Midwestern eyes. The museum’s impressive permanent collection boasts 60,000 works, with heavy emphasis on American painting and sculpture, contemporary art, and fine photography.
Downtown
Once considered an urban wasteland, Downtown Cincy is experiencing a much-welcome revival. Design firms are revamping long-abandoned storefronts; new bars and restaurants are sprouting like daffodils; and pedestrians are once again knocking about at Fountain Square. Much of the credit for this spark belongs to The Contemporary Arts Center, an iconic jigsaw puzzle-shaped structure situated in the heart of downtown. The CAC holds no permanent collection, so the galleries inside are in constant flux. Visitors can always count on stunning installations by such über-contemporary artists as Tara Donovan or Katharina Grosse. The CAC also throws a mean bash, so check the schedule to see when the next Friday night “Spin” party or black-tie gala is on tap.
Also downtown is the Weston Art Gallery, which has long been hailed as the place to see regional art on a grand scale. Exhibitions change monthly, veering wildly between jarring installations, elegant photography, day-glow paintings, or print-screened dance floors. As such, one can always count on eclectic opening-night crowds.
The Taft Museum of Art is a Cincinnati treasure, but its holdings tend to the more conservative than CAC or Weston. Set in the former home of President William Howard Taft, the 1820 structure summons an era of rigid manors, ladies’ teas and regency gowns. Yet lately, the museum has welcomed captivating new exhibitions, including those from China, Italy, even Brooklyn. You’ll still find ladies who lunch, but thanks to fresher programming and younger staffers, there seems to be new room for the next generation.
West End and Over-the-Rhine
Don’t let the West End’s crumbling warehouse buildings fool you: the neighborhood is home to some of the most impressive galleries in the region. The Carl Solway Gallery is equally appreciated for its longevity (est. 1963) and its matchless international artist roster. Located in a warehouse once home to video artist Nam June Paik, the space contains four discrete galleries, each showing the works of relevant and important artists. Openings here tend to be less about the art than the fete, so for quiet contemplation, visit on a Saturday.
The same building is home to the newly established Country Club Gallery. Contemporary art fans come here to check out hot new NY- and LA-based artists like Ryan McGinness, Harmony Korine and Beth Campbell. The galleries fresh-faced hosts shun the ubiquitous wine-and-cheese openings in favor of laid back barbecues. Though certainly popular with the hipster set, serious-minded art aficionados make a point of checking out each new show. The upstairs Aisle Gallery, as the name implies, is a sliver of a space that favors the work of local artists.
One must trek a tad deeper into the West End to unearth Semantics Gallery, but the effort is more than worth it. This small, gritty artist-run nook features odd, audacious and often revelatory art. The disintegrating warehouse space proves an ideal backdrop for avant-garde devices like hidden art, projected film and offbeat installations. On Final Fridays, Cincinnati’s monthly gallery hop, it seems every artist in town makes his or her way through the building.
Final Friday is also the perfect time to visit Over-the-Rhine’s Clay Street Press, a print shop and gallery. Plucked straight from on-site printing presses, the work displayed here includes lithography, embossing and editioned prints, all of which is carefully chosen and exceptional. Follow the creative stream to nearby Main Street, where the gallery hop stays strong at 1305 Gallery. Exhibiting contemporary works in all shapes and forms, 1305 is one of the few small spaces that maintains the will to endure despite tough times.
East Walnut Hills
East Walnut Hills is an in-between kind of place, where stately old mansions rub shoulders with fixer-uppers. Here, the wealthy and poor mingle freely and willingly. That spirit seems reflected by the neighborhood’s two disparate main galleries. At PAC Gallery, one of the newest hot spots in town, expect to find voguish collectors sipping champagne while writing checks for the next big thing. Manifest Gallery and Drawing Center, on the other hand, is a non-profit organization that holds juried exhibitions, hosts guest curators, and collaborates with other institutions. Manifest has a reputation for showing high-level work in all media from across the country, but with a particular fondness for locals.
Source: Insider Ohio.
Photography by Scott Beseler
Odili Donald Odita, Flow, CAC
Cincinnati Art Museum
Paul Coors, Semantics
Matthew Dayler and Eric Lowenstein
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