Journey

The Cincinnati Arts Association’s Alice F. and Harris K. Weston Art Gallery in the Aronoff Center for the Arts announces two new exhibitions: Konvergence, a kinetic site-specific installation by Susan Ewing and Vratislav Novákthat invites viewer participation; and Journey, a poignant and contemplative multimedia installation by Karen Snouffer that addresses themes of memory and loss.

In her most recent installations, Karen Snouffer (Gambier, Ohio) has explored themes of memory, loss and ritual through the depiction of everyday objects that trigger powerful emotions about these human conditions. Since 1996 she has addressed the ordinary and mundane object with a broad range of serious and humorous undertones as a metaphor for human existence. Often dominating her installations are larger-than-life wall drawings that seek to transform the object into an expanded experience for the viewer. What is normal and mundane becomes grandiose and sacred.

Journey continues this exploration, incorporating the artist’s personal reflections of her father, who died in April 2000. The installation will combine painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, sound and found objects inspired by memory and emotion. Snouffer views Journey not only as an homage to her father, but also as a means of bringing together images, sounds and objects within a gallery setting to create a sanctuary-like environment which seeks to communicate universal messages regarding memory and loss.

Karen Snouffer earned a bachelor of science degree in fine arts and art education, and her master of fine arts in painting and drawing from Ohio State University. Since 1985, she has developed an extensive exhibition history both regionally and nationally and her work is represented in numerous private and corporate collections. She has received Individual Artist Fellowships from the Ohio Arts Council in 1989, 1992 and 1998. Since 1999, she has served as an assistant professor of art at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio.