Department of Art

Art Events and Exhibitions

Check our upcoming exhibits! Most are available in our Main Gallery (1st floor) or in the Clement Gallery (lower level) in the UToledo Center for the Visual Arts, immediately adjacent to the Toledo Museum of Art. Some are available online.

Fall 2024

Why Do You Vote? Ehibition Graphic

Why Do You Vote?

October 25–December 13

Opening Reception - Friday, Nov.1st, 5-8 pm

Center for the Visual Arts, Main Gallery

This show is the representation of a diverse group of twenty-five women who are passionate about their ideas and freedoms, and who have fearlessly agreed to answer, in their own personal way, the question of why they vote. The exhibit consists of sculpture, pottery, paintings, and conceptual pieces created by the invited artists, exemplifying personal concerns, whether it be reproductive rights, environmental issues, voter suppression, gerrymandering or other high interest issues. Throughout the exhibition there will be signage designed to ask the viewer to contemplate their own viewpoints. One of the goals of the exhibit is to remind visitors as well as the college students of the importance of casting a ballot. Our exhibition is designed to create a conversation, a debate, a reminder that every vote counts; that, for those societal issues that face us today, each one of us can make a difference. We hope that you, as an observer, will also answer the question of Why Do You Vote, and understand that every vote counts. 


Story Teller exhibit graphic - abstract collage image of a woman's face with spotted cat overlay

Story Teller

Center for the Visual Arts (CVA) Main Gallery

August 26–October 11

"Storyteller" is a retrospective exhibition that delves into the distinctive world of Holly Roberts, a renowned artist who combines photography and painting to create evocative mixed-media collages. This exhibition showcases Roberts' intuitive process, where paintings and fragments of her photographs form symbolic and dreamlike compositions.


Swan Song Exhibition Graphic

Swan Song (Guest Installation)

Center for the Visual Arts Courtyard

Sept. 1-28

Swan Song features the individual and collaborative work of guest artists Halima Afi Cassells and Shanna Merola, combining their photo-based collages alongside sculpture and installation. This exhibition examines the cause and effects of colonization, resource extraction, climate crisis, and corporate domination. While Merola’s dystopian landscapes seem fractured beyond repair by free market deregulation, Cassells’ work manifests the collective liberation of both people and land from the grip of white heteropatriarchal systems of oppression.

The swan is a recurring figure, both aesthetically and metaphorically. As an archetype and motif, the graceful creature holds multiple meanings handed down through the centuries and across different cultures. According to ancient Greek mythology, the silent swan sings a beautiful song just before death. As we stand on the precipice of collapse, in the wake of a new paradigm shift, can we also learn to experience joy amidst the terror?

More...

While part of the exhibition will be on campus in the CVA Courtyard, the main exhibition will be displayed at River House Arts. Below is the full schedule.

Exhibitions

  • River House Arts (Sept. 1-28)
  • University of Toledo Department of Art: Center for the Visual Arts Courtyard (Sept. 1-28)

Programing

Artist lecture: Toledo Museum of Art, Little Theater
Sunday, Sept. 22, 2-3 p.m.

Exhibition Reception: River House Arts
Sunday, Sept. 22, 3-5 p.m.

 


2017 UToledo Art alumna Kayla Kirk at her pottery wheel

Alumni Opening

UToledo Art Alumna Opens New Pottery Studio within Huron Street Studios

Open House - Saturday, Sept. 14, 3-10 p.m.

Huron Street Studios, formerly known as Gathered Glassblowing Studio, is excited to announce its reopening under new ownership. Renowned glass blower Ryan Thompson and ceramic artist Kayla Kirk ('17) have acquired the studio from previous owners Adam Goldberg and Mike Stevens. To celebrate this new chapter, the community is invited to an open house on Saturday, Sept. 14 to experience the new business and enjoy live glass and pottery demonstrations.

Kayla Kirk, a BFA and BA graduate from The University of Toledo in 2017, has opened Charmed Ceramics, her own pottery studio within Huron Street Studios. Kirk has spent the last three years at Detroit’s historic Pewabic Pottery working as a production potter and educator. Kirk’s work is driven by a deep appreciation for nature and emphasizes the transformative magic of clay into fine art. She is passionate about sharing the joy of clay with others and is excited to offer quality handmade goods and public pottery experiences in her hometown.

 


Alumni Exhibit

Embroidered cloth showing a bird asleep with a bat, text is the event information already available on this page.

Queer Chimera:

Fiber and Mixed media Art by Juniper Wolfenbarger

Aug. 30 - Sept. 29, 2024

Opening Reception - Friday, Sept. 13, 6-8 p.m.

A2AC Spotlight Gallery

A celebration of queerness and the process of building a chosen family.


Summer 2024

A mixed media work called Blue Leaves by Barbara Miner, professor and chair of the Department of Art at The University of Toledo.

Faculty Virtual Solo Exhibition

June 1 - July 31, 2024

ARTIST - Barbara Miner
Chair, Professor of Art
Department of Art 

Blue Koi Gallery, an online platform that hosts monthly juried art shows and exhibitions, is hosting a solo exhibition featuring the mixed media work of Barbara Miner in June and July.

Miner, professor and chair of the Department of Art at The University of Toledo, was awarded the solo exhibition through a national competition. 

Miner used stencils, spray paint, markers and digital tools to create...Read more.

 


Spring 2024

Graphic - UToledo Art Faculty Exhibition 2024

Art Faculty Exhibition 2024

Jan. 22 - Feb. 16
Center for the Visual Arts, Main Gallery

Opening Reception - Friday, Jan. 26, 6-8 p.m.

Center for the Visual Arts, Main Gallery

The UToledo art faculty are hosting a show of their latest projects. From 2D to 3D to digital - come see their amazing work! The exhibit and reception are both free and open to all.

ART FACULTY IN THE SHOW

  • Jordan Buschur
  • Jason Cox
  • Julia Labay Darrah
  • Deb A. Davis
  • Dan Hernandez
  • Shin Yeon Jeon
  • Tom Lingeman
  • Daniel McInnis
  • Barbara Miner
  • Deborah Orloff
  • Mysoon Rizk
  • Karen Roderick-Lingeman
  • Arturo Rodriguez
  • Barry Whittaker
  • Eric Zeigler

Image of a student billboard on display in 2023

Annual Digital Billboard Exhibition

Jan. 16 - Mar. 14, 2024

Greater Toledo Area

Each year, Lamar, a local outdoor advertising company, displays the work of several UToledo art students on its digital billboards throughout the greater Toledo area. Thanks to our community partner, Lamar, and the hard work of faculty member and organizer, Barry Whittaker (Department of Art), the work of our students receives well-deserved publicity and recognition. Watch for our students' work at the locations below.

Locations

  • Glendale at Byrne (facing west)
  • Monroe NW Corner of Laskey (facing east)
  • Washington SE Corner of Huron (facing west)
  • Erie at Anthony Wayne Trail (facing west)
  • I-475 at Upton (facing west)
  • Navarre Avenue West of Wheeling (facing west)
  • I-75 at Monroe (facing south east)
  • Secor at Executive Parkway (facing south)
  • Reynolds NW Corner of Glendale (facing north)
  • Monroe SW Corner of Douglas (facing north)

2024 Juried Student Exhibition

Mar. 1-26
Center for the Visual Arts, Main Gallery

Opening Reception - Friday, Mar. 1, 6-8 p.m.

Center for the Visual Arts, Main Gallery


Krzysztof Wodiczko: The Art of Un-War

Scene from the film Art of Unwar shows flying drone with eyes superimposed

Film director Maria Niro

Artist Krysztof Wodiczko in front a statue of Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln is depicted with sunglasses, a necklace and natural hands

Friday, April 12 at 1:30 p.m.

Toledo Lucas County Public Library, Main Branch, McMaster Center

The University of Toledo Department of Art and the UToledo Roger Ray Institute for the Humanities will host a screening the film, Krzysztof Wodiczko: The Art of Un-War. The event will include a dialogue with the filmmaker, Maria Niro, and Wodiczko, the artist featured in the film. The screening and discussion are supported by an Ohio Humanities Spark Grant awarded to the department and the institute. Admission and parking (in the garage behind the library) are free and open to all. 

This program has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in the program do not necessarily represent those of Ohio Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities. 


Text over mottled background, UToledo BFA Thesis Exhibition 2024, April 8 to May 31

2024 Bachelor of Fine Arts B.F.A. Exhibition

Apr. 8 - May 31
Center for the Visual Arts, Main Gallery

Opening Reception - Friday, Apr. 26, 5-7 p.m.

Center for the Visual Arts, Main Gallery

 


Exhibitions and Events from Past Academic Years

Last Updated: 10/14/24