Columbus, Ohio—The Greater Columbus Arts Council (Arts Council) in collaboration with PromoWest Productions has announced the four artists selected to participate in the 2015 Columbus Makes Art exhibition. The selected artists’ work will be displayed on the south side of A&R Music Bar in the Arena District. Each artist will be paid a $500 honorarium by the Arts Council and will receive recognition on the installed work.
The exhibition will go on view on the south side of the A&R Music Bar in early October. It will be up for one year.
The four winning artists are: Mary Barczak, Tony Cochran, Sarah Mitchell, Greg Stange.
About the artists:
Mary Barczak (43222) is a painter and photographer from New Jersey. She is the creator of the whimsical series The Nones, from which the exhibition image comes. Barczak began painting professionally in 2008, following a BFA in photography and a minor in marketing from Ball State University. She believes that art helps create a sense of community, like in Franklinton where she resides with fellow artist Christopher Tennant. Barczak’s most recent work is the constructed photography mask fairytale series featured in Tell You a Story, which is currently showing at Fresh A.I.R. Gallery in downtown Columbus.
Tony Cochran (43220) is the nationally syndicated cartoonist of the comic strip Agnes, an artist and an art guitar creator. Cochran loves all types of art from the simple line drawings of a daily comic strip to the complex coloration of acrylic paintings to the challenge of designing guitars for “Music As You Have Never Seen It.” His guitars, like the Baby Head Guitar created for this exhibition, are fully functional art, play great and fulfill his passion to create from reimagined materials. The guitar’s display panel is an extension of the art as well as the guitar’s wall support. Cochran studied at Columbus College of Art & Design and he and his wife, Vickie, love living in Columbus.
Sarah Mitchell (43016) has been drawing since she was seven years old. Under the instruction of her drawing teacher, Mr. Schall, she has developed her style in art as a student at Dublin Scioto High School for the past four years. For this piece, she mixed her love of music and love of art to bring “This Too Shall Pass” to life. The inspiration photo for this piece was CD102.5’s Summer Festival 2014.
Greg Stange (43085) is a Columbus native and likes to use items that are no longer useful for their intended purpose to create art. Many items that he uses are headed for the landfill and he re-purposes these items as works of art or as usable goods such as the Pursenalities and Totabilities. He and his wife Juliette Montague live in Worthington and have a business, StangMont Designs, where they create work both individually and collectively
A review committee of community and Arena District business representatives selected 10 finalists based on the criteria of: representing Columbus’ creative spirit and the creation or and/or engagement in Columbus culture; aesthetically pleasing/general appeal and appropriateness of material. The four artists chosen to participate in the exhibition were selected through an online public voting process.
To learn more about PromoWest Productions’ exhibition and see the work of the finalists and winning artists, visit promowestartexhibit.com.
About PromoWest Productions: Having hosted over 8,000 concerts since 1984, PromoWest Productions is the largest full-service independent entertainment company in the Midwest. Proud to be locally owned and operated for more than 30 years, PromoWest has focused on bringing Columbus the most eclectic regional and national acts in entertainment as well as showcasing local and developing acts. PromoWest owns and operates the Newport Music Hall, The LC Pavilion, The Basement and the A&R Music Bar in Columbus, OH and Stage AE in Pittsburgh, PA. PromoWest also produces PromoWest Live, a weekly TV show featuring live concert performances that airs on NBC after SNL in Columbus. PromoWest would like to thank the music fans, the City of Columbus, Greater Columbus Arts Council and its partners for their support over the past 30 years. www.promowestlive.com
About the Greater Columbus Arts Council: Through vision and leadership, advocacy and collaboration, the Greater Columbus Arts Council supports art and advances the culture of the region. A catalyst for excellence and innovation, the Arts Council funds exemplary artists and arts organizations and provides programs, events and services of public value that educate and engage all audiences in our community. The Arts Council thanks the City of Columbus and the Ohio Arts Council for their continued support. www.gcac.org
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CONTACT: Jami Goldstein
(614) 221-8492
jgoldstein@gcac.org
