Explore Eco-Art And Artists As Activist Voices Headlining New Exhibitions At Canton Museum Of Art

The Canton Museum of Art will open its Spring exhibition season on Tuesday, April 29, with three new offerings: the featured original exhibition APEIRON: The Eco-Art of John Sabraw, focused on the earth's ecosystem; Art & Activism: Perspectives from the CMA Collection, an exhibition of diverse artists, genres, and voices for society spanning more than 100 years, and; This Riverbed is a Cradle, featuring the sculptural fiber art of Michelle Wentling. These new exhibitions will be on view through July 27, 2025.

Opening Celebration & Gallery Talk - Thursday, May 1, 5 - 7pm

The Museum will host an opening celebration for the new exhibitions on Thursday,

May 1, from 5 - 7pm, free and open to the public. Visitors can tour the exhibitions with CMA's curators and the artists, while enjoying light bites and refreshments in the Museum's lobby.

There will be a CMA Gallery Talk at 6pm, "Environmental Activism through Art, Education, and Collaboration," featuring CMA Curator of Exhibitions, Christy Davis and Artist/Environmentalist, John Sabraw. The presentation will last approximately 20 minutes.

CMA Director & CEO Max Barton II said, "CMA's spring exhibitions deliver powerful messages around environmental impact and sustainability, as well as artists using their creative platforms for messages of hope, inspiring critical thinking, and encouraging expanded horizons.

"I am proud of the themes and parallels our curators have drawn in creating these original exhibitions - converging the transformative power of art and relevant conversations in the here and now. I think visitors will find connections, and engaging storylines, across all the artwork."

APEIRON: The Eco-Art of John Sabraw

APEIRON (Greek, meaning [that which is] unlimited), is a solo exhibition by artist John Sabraw, incorporating painting, sculpture, and video. For 20 years, Sabraw's nature-inspired, politically-charged paintings have garnered awe and awareness for ever-more-pressing environmental concerns. Sabraw was born in Lakenheath, England. An activist and environmentalist, Sabraw's paintings, drawings and collaborative installations are produced in an eco-conscious manner, and he continually works toward a fully sustainable practice.

He collaborates with scientists on many projects, and one of his current collaborations involves creating paint and paintings from iron oxide extracted in the process of remediating polluted streams in Southeast Ohio. The result is complex, luminous, mysterious paintings that strike a beautiful balance of controlled and organic processes.

Sabraw says: "I am an artist who collaborates with scientists and environmentalists to find solutions to issues of sustainability - fusing art and science. The main focus of my research currently is working with a team of engineers and watershed experts to remediate streams polluted by acid mine drainage from abandoned coal mines."

Sabraw's art is in numerous collections including the Museum of Contemporary Art, Honolulu; the Elmhurst Museum in Illinois; Emprise Bank; Bank of America; and Accenture Corp.

Sabraw is a Professor of Art at Ohio University, where he chairs the Painting + Drawing and Digital Art + Technology programs, and is Board Advisor at Scribble Art Workshop in New York. He has most recently been featured in TED, Smithsonian, New Scientist, London, Great Big Story, Business Insider, and Time.

Art & Activism: Perspectives from the CMA Collection

Art and activism share similar motivations: questioning the status quo, speaking out about injustices, communicating new perspectives, and inspiring others. Artists do this in a variety of mediums, depicting their views in sometimes blatant, or subtle, ways - asking us to stay engaged. From the CMA Collection come a variety of mediums and voices in American art that depict activism in a myriad of ways - sometimes obvious, sometimes not. These artists are harnessing the power of creativity to inspire dialogue, provoke change, and amplify marginalized voices in an ever-changing world.

Among the artists included in this exhibition are works by:

• Pop artist and spiritual-social commentator (Sister Mary) Corita Kent, who was deeply engaged in the social issues of her day, including race riots, poverty, and the nuclear arms race, and commented on them through her art;

• Romare Bearden, considered one of the most important American artists of the 20th century, telling the story of the African American experience in creative and thought-provoking ways;

• George Wesley Bellows, born in 1882 in Columbus, Ohio, and regarded as the most important Realist artists of his generation - whose depictions of boxing fights and dock workers in New York City to everyday life in rural America garnered praise from both progressive and conservative critics; and

• Gerrit Beneker, a painter and illustrator known for his paintings of industrial scenes and World War I war effort posters.

This Riverbed is a Cradle: Fiber Art of Michelle Wentling

Michelle Wentling's fiber art features a collection of botanically-dyed, handwoven wall hangings reminding us of who we were, who we still are beyond a culture shaped by fossil fuels, and who we will be amid a future marked by climate change. This exhibition is a reminder of origin - of a craft that has long provided a sense of identity and connection to place for many cultures.

Wentling grew up in rural Northeast Ohio where her family has worked in the rail and steel industries. In 2018 she moved to Salt Lake City to study at the University of Utah. She has a background in Environmental Humanities and is interested in the connections between craft, ecology, and community. Michelle currently works at the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art and is learning how to weave on a Macomber loom passed down from her late grandmother Maxine.

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