Toth, Cranbrook Academy Student Exhibits Featured at Ross Art Museum

January 13, 2004

DELAWARE, OHIO -- The artwork of Carl Toth, photography artist in residence at Cranbrook Academy of Art, will be featured at Ohio Wesleyan University's Richard M. Ross Art Museum beginning Thursday, Jan. 15. Toth's exhibition, Carl Toth Retrospective, will appear at the Ross Art Museum simultaneously with Cultural Radar, a group exhibition of art by Cranbrook graduate students.

Carl Toth Retrospective includes selections of Toth's early work through his most recent photo based images. Toth's art is influenced by contemporary literature and poetry, and is included in collections at museums and centers including the Museum of Modern Art, The International Museum of Photography at the George Eastman House, The Center for Creative Photography and The Art Institute of Chicago. Toth is the recipient of three fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Cultural Radar combines a variety of art from the graduate students of Cranbrook. The exhibit includes, among others:

• Large-scale photographs that examine the effects of media and current events on societal views of travel and safety, war and politics, and fashion and beauty
• Surreal, techno future landscapes consisting of digitally composed imagery
• Black and white photographs that concentrate on perception and the individual's interpretation of reality
• Monumental scale portraits inspired by Flemish paintings, religion and current popular culture
• Three-dimensional works
• An installation sculptural piece that embodies gluttony and focuses on consumption and waste
• Ceramic pieces that represent growing up in popular culture and the difficulties of seeking individuality
• Sculptures that allow viewers to touch, reach or climb completely inside the work

Justin Kronewetter, professor of fine arts at OWU and director of the Richard M. Ross Art Museum, says of the exhibition, "The work in these two shows is clear evidence that Carl Toth is both a highly accomplished, creative artist as well as an effective educator whose students are among the most inventive and skilled young artists enrolled in any graduate program in the country."

Both Carl Toth Retrospective and Cultural Radar open Jan. 15 and run through Feb. 15. The exhibitions are free and open to the public. Also open to the public is a slide presentation to be given by Carol Toth Jan. 22 at 7 p.m. in Edgar Hall Room 121. The public is also welcome to attend a reception for Toth and all of the student artists beginning at 8 p.m. in the galleries of the Ross Art Museum.

The Richard M. Ross Art Museum is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Thursday 10 a.m. - 9 p.m. and Sunday 1 - 5 p.m. The museum is closed Monday and Saturday. Special visits may be arranged by contacting the museum at 740-368-3606 or at ramuseum@owu.edu.