Beauty Reigns is an art exhibit featured at the Akron Art Museum through May 3rd.  It features “13 emerging and mid-career abstract painters from across the U.S.” Its extended name is Beauty Reigns: a baroque sensibility in recent painting.

Some of the common themes that I noted throughout the various pieces were the repeating patterns, strong colors, sense of balance, and layering.

A few of the artists who stood out to me, include:

Kamrooz Aram: a Middle Eastern artist who uses Eastern patterns, flowers, and overlaying paint. The piece that stood out the most was immediately to your left when you enter the main room across from the stairwell.

Susan Chrysler White: Her plexiglass chandelier hangs in the center of the main room. It’s a stunning piece that is very baroque inspired. Her paintings also stood out to me. In both, it looks like the colors peel away revealing hidden, abstract, nature scenes that include sunsets, autumn leaves on trees, and mountains. (below)

Paul Henry Ramirez: His work has to be my absolute favorite in the exhibit and it encompasses a huge section.  It appeals to me because of its use of balance, geometry, color, and space. He painted the walls of his section of the gallery and it moves the viewer throughout the space. Also, the detail in the tiny, abstract ballpoint pen drawings on paint chips is awe-inspiring.

Fausto Fernandez: Two of his paints speak to me on a level that the others don’t. One says to me, there is beauty in the chaos of love and the other, that there is harmony and balance in nature.

Rex Ray: His pieces are beauty and not as busy as you initially think. There’s lots of textures and colors, but you can definitely see his textile design influences.

While there, I also got to see John Pearson’s exhibit. He is a well respected, local artist who is retiring from teaching at Oberlin College. His work uses geometric abstraction and contrasting colors.

I would highly recommend checking out both exhibits. You would be doing yourself a disservice if you didn’t.

Thanks for reading,