About the Exhibition
Elevate at 21c presents temporary exhibitions of works by artists living and working in the communities surrounding each 21c Museum Hotel property. Elevate provides hotel guests with unique access to the work of notable regional artists, while featuring their work in the context of 21c’s contemporary art space. To view these works, please stop by the front desk to arrange access to the vitrines on guest room floors.
Cedric Michael Cox (Cincinnati)
Spring into Action II, 2016
Cedric Michael Cox (Cincinnati)
Acrylic on canvas
Josiah’s Hilltop, 2012
Acrylic on canvas
Inspired by music and architecture, Cedric Michael Cox creates semi-abstract paintings in bright colors that combine elements of Cubism and Surrealism. The forms are organic and fragmented, a combination of biomorphic forms and shapes, and clearly recognizable objects from the urban environment. The result is a composition that suggests the movement and rhythm of the world around him. The artist explains, “I strive to make clear in my work the similarities between a musical composition and a visual composition; a change in rhythm or pitch can be compared to a shift in line, brushstroke, value, and pattern. The personal becomes the universal.”
Nicole Trimble (Cincinnati)
The Purple Entombment, 2018
Oil on Canvas
Influenced by Caravaggio and inspired by early 90’s design motifs, Cincinnati artist Nicole Trimble’s The Purple Entombment combines contemporary characters with the composition and drama of Renaissance art. Trimble recalls the composition of Caravaggio’s The Entombment of Christ (1602-03) and sets them in a surreal geometric space, void of any landmarks of time and space. Trimble seeks to “exploit the beauty and drama as well as the humor and weirdness found in Old Master works, translating the dynamic compositions and densely packed figures from their original contexts to a party-like atmosphere.”
Michael Coppage (Chicago)
Charlottesville, 2018
Oil on canvas
In his painting Charlottesville, Michael Coppage references the 2017 protests in Charlottesville, Virginia using symbolism and allegory. In this image, people have been replaced by a troop of emotionally unsteady baboons. This piece is part of a new series Coppage is working on in which he uses different species of monkeys to take the place of people whom he sees as social disruptors. “The subjects addressed are generalized to provoke the viewer to project their own thoughts, feelings and bias onto the work creating the impetus for discussion,” Coppage explains.
Michael Coppage (Chicago)
The Appropriation, 2018
Oil on canvas
In this self-portrait Michael Coppage uses symbolism and allegory to depict himself as simultaneously oppressed and exploited. This oppression and exploitation are visually implied through the bars on the clothing he wears and on vertical lines on his face. The albino monkey sits atop his head and the artist explains that the monkey is “appropriating the essence that makes him who he is.” The stacked figures visually and metaphorically suggest that Coppage, an African American man, is on the bottom of the totem pole. This painting is part of a new series in which Coppage uses different species of monkeys to take the place of people whom he sees as social disruptors. “The subjects addressed are generalized to provoke the viewer to project their own thoughts, feelings and bias onto the work creating the impetus for discussion,” the artist explains.
Michael Stillion (Cincinnati)
Push
Oil on canvas
2014
Michael Stillion (Cincinnati)
Push
Oil on canvas
2014
Artist Michael Stillion’s paintings are a welcome escape from reality. Using oil on canvas, Stillion guides the viewer through unfamiliar, yet playful and welcoming landscapes. The paintings are a mix of early Disney and late Philip Guston, creating a style all his own.
