June 7 – July 20
Gallery Reception: Friday, June 7, 6-9 pm; Artist Talk at 7 pm
Ten days after graduating from college, Alison Alsup embarked on a journey of 3,416 woman-powered miles through the Ohio Region, with support from the Cleveland Institute of Art’s President Traveling Scholarship, and the Adventure Sports Podcast 2023 Adventure Grant. Beginning on June 1st 2023, Alsup biked 850 miles along the entire length of the Ohio River. She then thru-hiked and biked the Buckeye Trail; a 1,444 mile loop around the perimeter of the state. Next, Alsup biked 796 miles around the perimeter of Lake Erie. The journey ended on the 326 mile Ohio to Erie trail from Cleveland to Cincinnati, biking 186 miles of it, and completing the final 140 miles on roller blades. Her adventure ended on October 16th, 2023.
This Ohio Adventure fully immersed the artist in the region’s culture, history, and nature; providing unexpected moments with wonderful strangers, and gentle encounters with wildlife. This exhibition displays the beauty of Ohio that is often overlooked. Using watercolor, pen and ink, and graphite, the artwork depicts illustrative encounters with wildlife, lush landscapes of the region, and other quaint observations along the way. Alsup hopes residents of the local area feel a sense of comfort and pride when seeing their home state displayed through depictions of admiration and wonder. Viewers are encouraged to admire Ohio through the optimistic perspective of a young girl exploring by herself with only her backpack, sketchbook, and the kindness of strangers and Mother Nature to help her along the way.
Gallery Exhibition Opening Facebook Event Link
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Alison Alsup, born in Delaware Ohio, graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 2023 with a BFA in Painting and Drawing, having also completed a semester abroad at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem, Palestine.
Her work has been exhibited most recently in her solo exhibition Prairies to Peaks: Biking to Colorado’s Tallest Mountain at the Massillon Museum in March of 2023. She additionally held a solo exhibition at the Cleveland Institute of Art’s Ann and Norman Roulet Student and Alumni Gallery in September of 2022, titled The Holy Land: A Semester in Jerusalem, and a two-person exhibition titled Alaska: Working in Bristol Bay in April of 2022 at Current, in the 78th Street Studios in Cleveland, OH with her peer Ronnie Jackson.
Alsup was awarded the Clements Scholarship, and the Eastman ‘12 Bolton Memorial Award for travel and study in 2021, which she used to study abroad in Jerusalem. In the spring of 2023, she was awarded the Adventure Sports Podcast 2023 Traveling Grant and the Cleveland Institute of Art’s President’s Traveling Scholarship. Alsup used these grants to embark on an “Ohio Project”. Within four months, Alsup biked 850 miles along the length of the Ohio River, thru hiked the 1,444 mile Buckeye Trail, biked 796 miles around the perimeter of Lake Erie, and roller bladed the 326 mile Ohio to Erie Trail. She is currently working on a body of art about the beauty of the Ohio Region’s history, culture, and nature.
Ohio: Love For The Heart of It All will be open through July 20 during regular gallery hours on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 12pm-4pm, and by appointment on weekdays. To request an appointment, email gallery@waterlooarts.org or call 216.692.9500.
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