Caution: Artists at Play Opens Aug. 28 in The Loann Crane Gallery

Not Straight and Yet Beautifully Made, by Val Poitier

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Greater Columbus Arts Council (GCAC) opens a new exhibition in GCAC’s Loann Crane Gallery titled Caution: Artists at Play on Monday, Aug. 28, 2023. An opening reception will be held from 5-6:30 p.m. that same evening at the gallery located at 182 E. Long St. Caution: Artists at Play will be on view through Jan. 26, 2024.

Caution: Artists at Play is a group exhibition of fiber art curated by Renee Wormack-Keels that features six artists who have been encouraged to break the rules in using color and patterns in their textile work.

The artists include:

• Cynthia Catlin was first interested in sewing and quilting at the age of 13, crediting her grandparents for inspiring and teaching her to quilt. She works as a full-time quilt artist; her designs include art quilts, wearable art, handbags, jewelry, textile vases and journal covers.
• Yvette Jackson is an emerging artist whose fiber art is inspired by her work as a chaplain and grief educator. Her passion for celebrating life, living and recovery through storytelling is reflected in her work through themes of pain and peace side by side.
• Veronica Mays has been quilting for nearly two decades, although she has been most prolific over the past several years. She explores her African American heritage through her work, which has been featured in museums and galleries across the U.S.
• Val Poitier completed her first quilt in 1971 and began professional training in 1981. Her textile work, which has been exhibited across the country, includes mixed media, collages and portraits, often depicting human rights issues.
• Marvin Whistler is a fiber artist who works professionally as a mediator but enjoys tapping into his creative side through quilting. He was inspired to start quilting by hand, like his grandmother once did, before moving on to machine quilting.
• Renee Wormack-Keels is a narrative art and story quilter, focusing on telling the stories of African American women in the United States, especially those of African American singers and bandleaders. She has shown her work in exhibitions across the country.

“The title is based on the fact that we are women and men who come to this art form as a way of expressing our creativity,” said Wormack-Keels. “The team spoke recently about how as children we were not encouraged to express our creative side. We definitely believe in learning the rules and then we ‘break the rules’ and color not only outside the lines, but use colors in ways that express our personal aesthetics about how color and patterns ‘play’ together.”

Loann Crane Gallery hours are Monday-Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Thursday-Friday by appointment. The gallery is also a meeting space and subject to availability for drop-in visits; visitors who are planning a visit are encouraged to contact GCAC at gallery@gcac.org to ensure availability.

The featured artwork will also be available virtually through the gallery website at gcacgallery.org.

Named for the long-time benefactor of the arts and social justice in Columbus, the Loann Crane Gallery is located in GCAC’s office building at 182 E. Long St. downtown. Exhibitions in the gallery are focused on showcasing work by artists from historically marginalized communities.

Mission of the Greater Columbus Arts Council: To support and advance the arts and cultural fabric of Columbus. www.gcac.org

The Greater Columbus Arts Council receives major financial support from the City of Columbus, Franklin County Commissioners, the Ohio Arts Council and The Ohio State University.

For translations of this release and other pages, please see the dropdown menu at the top right corner of gcac.org.

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