Ohio Reclaimed: What Once Was | Group Exhibition
Forum Gallery
October 4 – December 14, 2024
This exhibition explores real Northeast Ohio landmarks in the midst of being reclaimed by nature. From the ferris wheel at Chippewa Lake to the locks in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, each location is examined through multiple mediums; poetry by Theresa Göttl Brightman, photography by Mary Defer, and paintings by Dee Fairweather. The work prompts questions about who the land belongs to—humankind or Mother Nature.
Mary Defer primarily works with analog photography, inspired by the unreliable nature of memory, the natural world, and the unearthing of family history. A near-lifelong NE Ohioan, she grew up on a family farm and discovered her love for photography at Kenyon College, where she earned a B.A. in Studio Art. Defer’s work has been exhibited regionally at Cleveland Print Room, Valley Art Center, and Pinwheel Gallery, and nationally through at Auburn Art Gallery (Los Angeles), Soho Photo Gallery (NYC), and Filter Photo (Chicago). In 2012, her book as when was included in DIY: Photographers & Books, the first-ever museum exhibition of print-on-demand photobooks at the Cleveland Museum of Art.
Dee Fairweather is an oil painter living in Medina, OH. Her interest in history began in grade school when her family moved to Roscoe Village, an historic canal village in Coshocton, OH. Using primarily neutral tones and influenced by American Tonalist artists, Fairweather’s emotionally fueled landscapes typically feature vast scenery with awe-inspiring skies. Her goal is to create timeless, atmospheric landscapes highlighting breadth, distance, and luminosity to fuel mental health, stress relief, and escapism.
Theresa Göttl Brightman is a poet and writer who uses her work to examine how the mundane and the mystic interact. Her poems have appeared in many online and print publications, two chapbooks and one full-length collection, and she has performed her poetry across the U.S. Brightman has received awards from The University of Akron, the City of Ventura, Cleveland Museum of Art, and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Rhysling Award, and Best of the Net awards. With an interest in environmental activism, her most recent poems often explore themes within eco-poetry.
Did you know?
Most of the artwork on display at Summit Artspace is for sale.
Click on the artwork images for pricing and more information about each piece.
If you would like to purchase any art, please visit a staff member or volunteer at the front desk, or email natalie@summitartspace.org.
1- Theresa Göttl Brightman | On Lock 28 | NFS
Poetry and audio recording
On Lock 28
She was here first.
Before she birthed our ancestors’ ancestors,
before any language-bearing creature
tried to control her by calling her
the first of thousands of names:
Ocean, River, Rain, Current.
When the Earth was a spinning hot slurry of iron,
she was here, in a rock of ice.
She formed sky and clouds,
built atmosphere, originated
the cycle of rain and cloud, rain and cloud.
She was here to catch carbon bits and flakes,
snap them together, and give them a place to float around
until lightning struck, creating something new, again.
She brought purpose with the animation of a single cell,
and she made another and another and another.
We made the mistake of trying to bend her to our will.
We called her Cistern, Aqueduct, Canal.
We forced her, an affront to her essential character,
until she rebelled, until we called her
Storm, Flood, Hurricane, Tsunami.
Now we must ask if there is Water in our bellies.
Not an all consuming fire, but Water.
Water that gives life and takes it away.
Water that runs and stands
and flows and falls. Water that adapts,
diverts, and carves with persistence.
We must find Water in our souls,
Water in our hands, Water under our feet.
It is our job to unmake our sins, to free her, restore her,
return her to her purpose
of creating a world where we can live.
2- Dee Fairweather | Ohio Canal | $1,200
Painting on panel
36” x 30”
3- Mary Defer | Ohio & Erie Canal Lock 28 | $400
Archival print from handmade negative
17.25” x 17.25”
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