New exhibit on display in the artPARK
From his parsonage studio Peter Wolfgang transforms what appears to be spent and useless material – ash, rust, clay, dirt – into something spiritual on canvas. By applying and sealing layer upon layer of these ‘dead’ materials – alternately rubbing and scouring to expose what lies beneath – he renders works that pulse with light and hope.
The Pomerene Center for the Arts is pairing Wolfgang’s abstract canvases with large banner reproductions of boxing paintings and lithographs by Columbus-born artist George Bellows (1882-1925) — images courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
September is National Recovery Month. Wolfgang’s art – exhibited in the ITM windows at 331 Main St. – speaks to the hope of recovery. Bellows’ work – in the artPARK next door – speaks of intense struggle. He claimed, “I don’t know anything about boxing. I am just painting two men trying to kill each other.” Life & death/drug vs. human – we think this is a powerful metaphor.
Coshocton County’s high overdose numbers and low life-expectancy rates put us in the bottom quarter of Ohio’s counties in terms of community health. These numbers are cause for great concern and call us into community conversation.
Partnering with Riverside Recovery Services and Coshocton Behavioral Health Choices, Wolfgang will be in the artPARK making a public piece of art and engaging in just such conversations four times in September.
Anyone interested in joining him is invited, whether you are a person impacted by addiction — in recovery, in remission, a family member or friend of — or without personal experience but concerned — or simply interested in making a community piece of artwork with Wolfgang using his materials and processes. The piece will be displayed in the artPARK through its creation in September and as a finished piece through October.
The first sessions of artmaking and community conversation sessions in the artPARK with Wolfgang was held Sept 8. The next one will be on Thursday, Sept. 14, from 8:30-11:30 a.m. The remaining two sessions are yet to be determined. Please follow Pomerene Center for the Arts on Facebook or Instagram to keep up with new information and check our website for further details: Pomerene Center for the Arts http: www.pomerenearts.org/community/the-fight.html.
Category: Arts & Entertainment
