“A New World: Ohio Women to Watch 2023” Art Exhibition Allows Artists Who Identify as Women to Express Themselves

Immerse yourself in an evening full of unique works of art. Whether you love sculptures, paintings or drawings there’s a wide range of art to experience. 

“A New World: Ohio Women to Watch 2023” exhibition has returned to Cincinnati. The opening reception will be held on April 5 from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. at the Weston Art Gallery. 

“Co-created by Matt Distel, they executive director and Sso-Rha Kang, curator at the Carnegie Arts Center, this group exhibition is presented in collaboration with the Ohio Advisory Group of the National Museum of Women in the Arts and the Ohio Arts Council’s Riffe Gallery,” according to the Cincinnati Arts Association. 

As a part of the curatorial process, Distel and Kang picked 11 artists who identify as women from different cities across Ohio to showcase a variety works of art. 

“They’re gauging artists who are thinking outside of the box, who are thinking about other conversations that underrepresented and emerging women artists are having, so I think it’s an honor to be a part of it,” said Xia Zhang, a participating artist and an assistant professor at University of Cincinnati’s College of Design Architecture and Planning (DAAP). 

Prior to teaching at DAAP, Zhang received her Master of Fine Art from West Virginia University and has had a plethora of experiences in the art world. Whether Zhang was exhibiting in China or being an artist at the Growlery in San Francisco, she continues to make her mark in the art world. 

Zhang explained that she views art as a way to express oneself through visual mediums and engage with people. 

The work of art that Zhang has in the exhibition is called, “Fearful/Avoidant,” composed of two photos of herself in the home that she lived in at the time, but in a chaotic state, according to Zhang. She originally made the photos nearly a decade ago. 

“And so within it, I’m thinking a lot about the evolution of my mental health in physical spaces that have felt harmful to me,” she said.

There were many different factors that went into Zhang’s exhibition such as how does a person react when they feel a sense of fear around them, her experience being in a predominantly white community when she was living in West Virginia and being a historically minoritized individual in America, she explained. 

“ I think that making work with lots of different layers has always been kind of my practice as a whole, but this kind of work feels like a departure from the work that I have made before,” said Zhang. 

Zhang’s previous work has been more labor intensive compared to her current piece that feels more vulnerable, she added. 

If you are interested in viewing Zhang’s work or any artist within the group exhibition, “A New World: Ohio Women to Watch 2023” click here. 

All participating artists include: Kat Burdine, Kara Güt , Sharon Koelblinger,  Calista Lyon, Mychaelyn Michalec, Migiwa Orimo, Kristina Paabus Erykah Townsend, Thu Tran, Cathrine Whited and Xia Zhang.