Artificial by Nature

The three summer exhibitions at the Cincinnati Arts Association's Alice F. and Harris K. Weston Art Gallery in the Aronoff Center for the Arts are linked by artificial interpretations of nature: Artificial by Nature: Mixed Media Installation by Shawna Guip; Iteration: Mixed Media Installation by Celene Hawkins; and Flock: Site-Specific Installation by Sophia Hayes.

Influenced by nature and the environment, Shawna Guip (Cincinnati) explores the fragility of natural cycles in her work. Through the combination of natural and made materials she suggests an illusory permanence, creating a unique relationship between the found organic and the fabricated synthetic. For Artificial by Nature, Guip created a suite of connecting installations that challenges the viewer's perception of common objects and natural occurrences by contrasting them with those fabricated by hand. The exhibition features a variety of new works that includes painting, drawing, and sculpture.  

Shawna Guip earned a bachelor of fine arts in sculpture from the University of Cincinnati in 1999. She has exhibited her work in such local venues as Closson's Art Gallery; Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park in Hamilton, OH; Semantics and the former S.S. Nova (now the Mockbee). In 2001, she completed a major public commission for Nisbet Park in Loveland, OH. From 2003 until 2005, she served as the studio coordinator for the Visionaries and Voices program for self-taught artists with disabilities at the Essex Artist Studios in Cincinnati.