Spaced Punk Studios - Deeply Rooted, Deeply Held

"Deeply Rooted, Deeply Held: An Exploration of the Natural World" was the 3-month long Fall 2022 exhibition at 1628 Ltd., a co-working and event space in downtown Cincinnati that also operates as a non-traditional art gallery. A large portion of my internship at 1628 was spent taking this exhibition all the way from ideation to execution, including canvassing the area for and reaching out directly to artists; advertising the show; managing the handling and installation of the art; and creating the graphic design. Getting to meet and work with so many artists, and see this show come together and be well attended after so many hours of hard work was incredibly rewarding. I loved being able to bring my own personal artistic tastes to the space, and all of the research, problem-solving, touch-ups, and emails were a part of the exhibition process that I had to learn a lot about very quickly, but I fell in love with it in my own way.

More information on the artists and works in the show can be found on 1628's blog page, or their Instagram.

"Deeply Rooted, Deeply Held" featured 27 primarily local and regional artists: Allie Burton, Janine Crum, Derek Dammann, Gary Dangel, Brad Davis, Doug Davis, Mary Anne Donovan, Anita Douthat, Kat Rakel-Ferguson, Kathleen Francis, Devan Horton, Esra Kanisicak, Margeaux Lim, Brandi Long, Claire Long, Romain Mayambi, Alaina Mercer, Susan Milinkovich, Sara Mulhauser, Samantha Niewierowski, Priya Rama, Rob Robbins, Maxwell Redder, Abby Shaner, Christopher Taulbee, Jordan West, and Joy Zitko.

"Nature can be many different things. It is the environment around us, the ecosystem sustaining us, and the instincts woven into our very being. Nature can help create a culture, a cuisine, a religion; but in its fullness, it is also full of contradictions. It creates in the same breath that it breaks down. It inspires awe as it does fear. It is the deepest ocean in the same way it is the farthest star. Our relationship with it is similarly complex. It is key to our survival, yet we destroy it. It fosters our wellbeing, yet we isolate ourselves from it. It is untamable, yet we still try to contain it. Somehow all of these things can be true.

And somehow, the art created in its name can address all of these things. From the Hudson River School capturing the sublime beauty of untouched America, to the Land Artists creating ever-changing works from mud, stone, and grass, nature has been the subject and the tools of artists since the dawn of time. Whether realistic or heavily stylized, representational or abstract, artists have always been attracted to depicting nature and their own personal or cultural relationship with it.

'Deeply Rooted, Deeply Held' speaks to the continuation of this millennia long dance between artists and the world they find themselves in. It explores our extraordinary planet and our connection to it – the emotions it inspires, the comfort (or danger) it brings – and urges us to appreciate and protect it, to closely hold what has been rooted within us for so long."