Jointly curated by Co-Artistic Directors, Prem Krishnamurthy and Tina Kukielski, the triennial exhibition of newly commissioned and site-specific work, explores themes of healing and transformation through art. The triennial’s title Oh, Gods of Dust and Rainbows, is inspired by a two-line meditation on adversity and change in a poem by Langston Hughes. Hughes spent his formative years in Cleveland and returned often to develop new work. For FRONT, the curators have invited emerging and established artists to create projects that engage with the hidden histories, geographies, and communities that have formed the post-industrial city.
Oh, Gods of Dust and Rainbows
Jacolby Satterwhite, Dawn, 2022. Installation view, Cleveland Institute of Art, July 16–October 2, 2022. Commissioned by FRONT International: Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art with support from the VIA Art Fund, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Photo: ©FieldStudio. Artwork: courtesy of the artist and Mitchell-Innes & Nash, New York ©JacolbySatterwhite
Cooking Sections (founded 2013)
To Those Who Nourish, 2022
Hydraulic fountain, three-year working group with Ohio regenerative farmers
Dimensions vary
Courtesy of the artists
Commissioned by FRONT International: Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art with support from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and in partnership with North Coast Harbor, Downtown Cleveland Alliance, Great Lakes Science Center, and the US Army Corps of Engineers
© Cooking Sections
Installation view, FRONT International: Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art, The Sculpture Center, July 16–October 2, 2022.
Abigail DeVille (born 1981, New York City; lives in The Bronx, NY)
The Dream Keeper, 2022
Bricolage
Dimensions vary
Courtesy of the artist
Commissioned by FRONT International: Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art, with support from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Joanne Cohen and Morris Wheeler, Fleischner Family Charitable Foundation, and Arts Midwest
Photo: ©FieldStudio
Artwork: ©AbigailDeVille
Front 2022, Transformer Station, Various Artists
Abigail DeVille, The Dream Keeper. Installation view, Quincy Garden, July 16–October 2, 2022. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Field Studio.
Sarah Oppenheimer and Tony Cokes, SM-2N: sldrty?, 2022. Installation view, FRONT PNC Exhibition Hub at Transformer Station, July 16–October 2, 2022. Commissioned by FRONT International: Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art in partnership with VIA Art Fund and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Photo: Brad Feinkopf. © the artists
Diana Al-Hadid. The Time Being, 2022.
Steel, polymer gypsum, fiberglass, Plexiglas, copper leaf, and jasmine
Dimensions vary
Commissioned by FRONT International: Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art in partnership with the Syrian Cultural Garden Association Photo: ©FieldStudio
Artwork: ©Diana Al-Hadid
Martin Beck, Last Night, 2016. Installation view, Bop Stop. Courtesy the artist and 47 Canal, New York. Photo: Field Studio. This project was produced in collaboration with Phileas with additional support from the Federal Ministry for Arts, Culture, Civil Service, and Sports, Republic of Austria. © Martin Beck.
Langston Hughes, facsimiles of multiple drafts of “Two Somewhat Different Epigrams,” ca. 1955–1960. Installation view, FRONT PNC Exhibition Hub at Transformer Station, July 16–October 2, 2022. Photo: Field Studio. Manuscripts © Estate of Langston Hughes.
Paul O’Keeffe, In Memoriam (I Wanna Be Pure), 2021, steel, ultracal, Plexiglas, flashe paint, 30 ⅞ × 96 ¼ × 31 ⅞ in. © and courtesy of the artist.
“Isn’t life a series of images that change as they repeat themselves?”
Andy Warhol