Invisible Flows: A solo exhibition by Ashley Hull

There is a quiet beauty in the idea that all things—animate or exanimate—are entwined by a never-ending flow of consciousness. Invisible Flows examines the interconnectedness of life and death and how all creatures uniquely embody a broader, interwoven consciousness. 

Through expressive linework, detail, and color, this series of pyrographs illustrates the many fluxes of nature and explores how all beings interact with each other and their environment. I use pyrography and mixed-media on various wood types to capture the constant movement and cycles in the natural world. I gravitate towards flowing, expressive linework combined with touches of vibrant color to capture the essence of various flora, fauna, and funga.

Chrysalis examines the unstable space between what we have been and what we are becoming. Through Black figurative painting, memory, history, fatherhood, symbolism, and personal mythology, I consider transformation not as a clean act of rebirth, but as a period of pressure, rupture, reconstruction, and possibility.

A chrysalis is neither an ending nor an arrival. It is a temporary space where an existing form is broken down, reorganized, and made unfamiliar before something new can emerge. That idea speaks to the figures in these works, but also to the evolution of my practice. Over the last several years, my work has expanded through portraiture, surrealism, public art, historical narrative, pattern, and color. In Chrysalis, those familiar elements remain, but I am allowing them to shift. Figures become less fixed and more psychological. Atmosphere, gesture, abstraction, and light begin to carry as much meaning as the subject itself. Some works reach backward toward memory and history, while others move toward forms and ideas I am still discovering. I am interested in the place where identity is still being negotiated. Growth can require repetition, revision, shedding, and sometimes the willingness to move beyond visual habits or narratives that once felt necessary. The work does not attempt to present transformation as complete. Instead, it holds the tension of being in process.

Chrysalis is also about trajectory - not just where the work has been, but what is beginning to emerge from it. I see this exhibition as a marker in an ongoing practice: one that continues to explore Black life, fatherhood, memory, and personal mythology while opening itself to more vulnerability, experimentation, and ambiguity. Chrysalis exists in that middle space - between preservation and reinvention, familiarity and experimentation, inheritance and self-definition. It is less about arriving as something new than recognizing that becoming is already taking place.

Sir’Ra

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

MAjESTiCA! Painted & curated by Sophia Peck

Somewhere Over the Rainbow explores themes of presence, arrival, and the return to the present moment.

This abstract floral series captures flowers as if they are caught in motion—moving, shifting, and unfolding beyond a fixed moment in time. Through color, movement, and abstraction, the paintings invite the viewer to slow down and become present within the image.

During Sophia Peck’s time at the OTE Arts Mansion in Columbus, her creative process was shaped by a constant tension between distraction and presence. Here, MAJESTiCA!—once an artistic identity—began to merge with Sophia’s evolving understanding of herself as an artist.

What began as a persona expanded into something larger: a visual language, a collaborative experience, and ultimately an exhibition.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow marks a moment of arrival. It is an invitation to return to oneself, to notice what is already here.

For a very limited time, the historic W.H. Jones Mansion becomes the home and studio of artist-in-residence Sophia Peck (Majestica), inviting the public into the rarely seen world of a contemporary working artist.

Over the course of one month, the mansion transforms into a living installation where guests are welcomed into Majestica's evolving creative practice through a series of immersive events. Rather than exhibiting only finished works, this residency offers a rare opportunity to witness the artistic process as it unfolds—observing ideas become sketches, sketches become paintings, and the mansion studio itself become part of the artwork.

At the heart of the residency is the Salon Studio, inspired by the Parisian salons of the Enlightenment, where artists, musicians, writers, and curious minds gathered in private homes to exchange ideas, share works in progress, and inspire one another. Reimagined for Columbus, the Salon Studio events are intimate creative gathering where making art is a shared experience. Guests are encouraged to bring a sketchbook, watercolor set, journal, knitting, crochet, or another creative project to work on while enjoying conversation, music, and the atmosphere of the mansion. Each Salon Studio also features Open Decks, inviting guest DJs to contribute to the evening's soundtrack. Approved DJs may perform using a Rekordbox-formatted USB or their own laptop. Equipment provided includes a Pioneer XDJ-RR and KRK studio monitors. If you're interested in performing, please complete the DJ application through the Google Form. (click here)

Come see some of Suzanne Shea Gallagher’s favorites, at 700 Bryden for the month of July, opening July 11th 5-8pm.

Suzanne is one of our current artists in residence this summer, which offers her studio space, exhibition opportunity, and community engagement with support from the Greater Columbus Arts Council @gcac_cbus Her work and presence in the community has been prolific for many years, and has found rejuvenating creative flow recently at 700 Bryden.

Suzanne is a master oil painter who captures energy, light and color in a vibrant, vibratory way that brings life to her paintings. Come see them in person and you will completely understand what I mean.

Portraitures of Boyhood is a year-long series of oil paintings that grew out of sustained attention to childhood as a fluid, expressive stage of becoming, traced through portraits of boys mostly between the ages of two and twelve.

The work did not begin as a series about boys specifically; the original intention was simply to paint children. By chance, the first four paintings were of boys, and the quiet momentum of that coincidence carried the project forward. As the series continued, the focus gradually narrowed—not through initial intention, but through a curiosity that deepened with each painting.

What emerged was not a study of individual identity, but of boyhood as an idea—a shifting emotional and visual landscape shaped by color, scale, gesture, and mood. Over the course of the year, the work evolved: brushwork loosened, palettes evolved, and the paintings moved further away from representation and closer to expression. Exploring boyhood through color—unexpected hues, exaggerated contrasts, and painterly intuition—became one of the most rewarding aspects of the process.

This series, Portraitures of Boyhood, is not about narrative or biography. Instead, it is about presence, energy, and the in-between moments of growing up—a time before performance hardens, before self-consciousness fully sets in. Seen together, the paintings reflect not only the development of the subjects, but the development of the artist’s own language over time.

Proceeds and donations from the show will go toward supporting the Veteran Arts Initiative, a free class held at 700 Bryden for veterans led by Mary Skrenta. Donations can be made through Venmo @VaiBryden

Nicole Montoney:

When I was younger, I didn’t go to art school. Part of that came from a lack of confidence—uncertainty about whether I was “good enough,” or worthy of taking up space in that world. 

 Between doubt and fear - art became something I practiced quietly and privately, on the margins of a more “responsible” life.

 Years passed. A successful career in business took shape here in Columbus. Responsibilities accumulated.

Art remained—patient, persistent—returning again and again with the same question.

What’s stopping me from doing exactly what I want in life?

 This show is one way of answering that question.Not by proving anything or correcting the past, but by making room in the present. By trusting that showing up—openly, without certainty—is reason enough to be here, and inviting others to meet the work where it is.

Call For Art! Deadline May 15th

(ART)ifacts

Artifact- An object produced, shaped, or modified by human craft, possessing cultural or

historical significance.

“I’m in the cave making art. All of human history is in the cave with me. At the heart of the cave

is the desire to create. Observering, experiencing, and utilizing the natural world connects me

to that collective human history. My creativity is a continuation from that first moment our

ancestors started making Art.”

-Rocco

Inspired by the mythologist Joseph Campbell’s idea that “Myth must be kept alive, the people

who can keep it alive are the artists of one kind or another, the function of the artist is the

mythologization of the environment and the world”. Campbell made a direct connection that the

role of the shaman and the role of the artist, both use ritual to see and interpret reality for the

viewer.

Influenced by Marcel Duchamp’s concept of “readymade” sculptures, which transformed mass

produced objects he deemed aesthetically compelling into works of art. He helped establish the

Dada movement which challenged the traditional definition of art. Duchamp’s impact soon found

its way into the avant-garde, where he coined the term “Mobile” to describe the kinetic

sculptures of Alexander Calder. Rocco then combined the ideas of Joseph Campbell, Marcel

Duchamp’s readymade objects, and Alexander Calder’s suspended mobiles to create

sculptures that feel like artifacts from another time. Whether it’s the yokes, ropes, pulleys, or

chains that are readymade, even the rocks are readymade by nature, individually some may

only see objects, the sculptor sees art.

The process is an exercise of ritual. Gathering materials, discovering rocks in nature,

assembling them in the studio, and presenting them in a gallery all function as stages of the

ritual. Even the viewer’s engagement, moving around the work, interpreting it, talking about it,

interacting physically or energetically are all part of the ritual.

“Follow your Bliss”

-Joseph Campbell

A solo exhibition by Mary Penta

This exhibition, entitled "Glimmering Moments," explores themes of time and contentment. The paintings in this series are made to convey a passion for life, a hurry, and a mountain of ideas, all while still finding beauty and slowness. Through colors and symbolism, I wish to provoke questions of how to relish time and when to let go of a moment. My aim is for the viewer to have a feeling of magic that may lessen the ache of time. My inspiration comes from feelings of fleeting, flying, and fading hours, in turn making every moment in hindsight feel precious and magical. My visual inspirations are often from sites seen while traveling and exploring, observing animals, and consuming poetry and stories. My overarching goal with this work was to explore my own anxieties around years passing and memories being scattered everywhere. I believe the end product of the work shows that beauty is in the moment, in the past, and in the future. My hope for all my work is that it can be found as a relatable and comforting contribution to the world.

MILK TRAIN

Objects of desire– paintings, sculptures and photos of posed beautiful women fill our life and minds: constructing  a view women made to please, comfort, and soothe. But what about that feeling– a call towards something else. wild? Free? MILK TRAIN is a group show featuring work from artists exploring human nature buried in the depths of our patriarchal society.

A solo exhibition by J. Blix

Showing in March 2026

This is a collection of art made while living while being an artist. Like every American with a soul, I’ve woken every day for a decade traumatized by the news from yesterday. In my personal life, there were desk jobs and waiting tables; homelessness, wealth, unbearable debt; people who are related to me, situationships, career flips, accidents, violence, drugs, cancer, death; And there’s also chasing and achieving dreams, traveling the world, buying my dream car, writing a restaurant menu, running marathons, learning a new language, realizing that I am willing to put my life in front of the causes I believe in. But all of that is just living, and we all do it. But from living comes emotions, from emotions come art; each of these pieces share the art that I felt because I lived.

Esta es una colección de arte creada mientras vivía, mientras era artista. Como cualquier estadounidense con alma, durante una década me he despertado cada día traumatizada por las noticias de ayer. En mi vida personal hubo trabajos de oficina y de mesera; hubo falta de hogar, riqueza, deudas insoportables; personas que son mi familia, relaciones indefinidas, cambios de carrera, accidentes, violencia, drogas, cáncer, muerte…

Y también está la parte de perseguir y alcanzar sueños: viajar por el mundo, comprar el coche de mis sueños, escribir el menú de un restaurante, correr maratones, aprender un nuevo idioma, darme cuenta de que estoy dispuesta a poner mi vida al frente de las causas en las que creo.

Pero todo eso es simplemente vivir, y todos lo hacemos. Y de vivir nacen las emociones; de las emociones nace el arte. Cada una de estas piezas comparte el arte que sentí porque viví.

 We are inviting our resident artists from our 700 Bryden community and beyond to exhibit their small and affordably priced artwork for our group show Small Things. The show will open right in time for our holiday Open Studios!  What we are looking for:  Small works only- no larger than 10” x 10” or 10” on the longest side.  Up to 3 artworks- 2D & 3D is fine. Please let us know if you will have an easel for 3D work.  20% commission for sales of all non resident artists .

Artwork Drop off :

Monday December 8th 9-5pm
Tuesday December 9th 5-7pm
Pick up of Unsold work:  Monday February 2nd- Friday 6th 9am-5pm 

An exhibition of paintings by Ethan Rucker

M.F.A. Thesis Exhibition by Lauren Lee-Cabrera

In my landscape paintings I turn the world upside down. I bend reality with exaggerated

vibrancy, high value contrast, and athletic mark making to convey the power and drama

of nature. Trees are sliding off of cliffs, nature dissolves into blocks of neon color, and

once sturdy ground melts before one's eyes. All these elements work together to signify

the indescribable sensations and transcendent feelings engendered by nature’s

sublime.

In my recent paintings I have been contemplating my smallness within the infinite

vastness of land and sea. I am drawn to Kant’s ideas of the dynamical and

mathematical sublime--that nature can be both forceful and explosive, while also

revealing the infinity of the ever-expanding universe. In my work I weave these

philosophical ideas together with my treks through the wilderness and excursions

around the world. Nature has a way of leaving deep emotional impacts, and this work is

in the blurred space where these sublime feelings and memories merge.

The Bee Collective is a collaboration between artists and honeybees to create amazing sculptures to raise awareness and funding for our mission: To help turn our urban spaces into a native pollinator sanctuary.

A solo exhibition by Reagan Joseph Rico

“CANNED!” Is a celebration of collaboration presenting 10 illustrative beer can designs created by Holly Kimbrell for Derive Brewing Company and their industry partners. 

Holly began creating labels for Derive in 2023 while working for the brewery as a bartender. Together, they have developed a repertoire of more than 50 unique cans in partnership with other craft breweries throughout the country and abroad.  

Each label explores a world of its own, seeking to fully embody the unique vision behind the beer and its contributors. From demure cyborgs, to demonic cat-pilots, pastry astronauts and cop sharks, there’s something to suit every refined pallet. While the subject matter and style varies to suit the theme of the beer, the through line at the heart of both Holly’s art and Derive’s beer is full-spirited collaboration, ample creativity, and good humor. 

In a moment where more and more are turning to AI over partnership with creatives, CANNED is a celebration of the magic that happens when art is brought into business, and shared over a pint of good beer.