Discovering New Life in Hope” by Lisa M. McLymont incorporates natural markings in the wood to enhance the design of the depicted woman’s tattoo. Credit: Courtesy of Faculty Club
Spring has sprung, and the changing of the seasons brings a change of scenery in the halls of the Ohio State Faculty Club.
The OSU Faculty Club will hold an opening reception for its latest exhibition by Columbus artist and alumna Lisa M. McLymont on Friday from 6 to 8 p.m.
The solo exhibition, titled “Universe Tribe,” includes acrylic and watercolor paintings on birch panels, as well as graphite and neocolor crayon drawings on Dura-Lar film. McLymont said the series is inspired by the soft mystery of artists such as Georgia O’Keefe and Susan Seddon-Boulet, and its images focus on identity and movement of the seasons.
Lisa Craig Morton, art coordinator for the Faculty Club, said that McLymont’s diverse range of mediums made her a perfect candidate to feature for the spring season.
“There’s a very interesting mix of materials and things at play in her works,” Morton said.
Morton said that through McLymont’s use of sanded-down birch panels rather than canvas, she conveys a message of hope and peace. Morton said the natural markings of the wood are brilliantly incorporated in the painted image, as seen in the piece “Discovering New Life in Hope,” which displays a tattoo on the subject’s shoulder.
“I love using natural materials in my work because I feel they accentuate the individuality of each personality that comes to life on or through it,” McLymont said in an email. “My choice to use natural materials as a vehicle for my art is my desire for simplicity and for the work to be able to return to the earth with minimal damage to our environment.”
McLymont she earned her undergraduate degree in industrial design from OSU. She was a 2010 recipient of the OSU Arts Initiative Fellowship for Emerging Artists. She currently works in jewelry design and graphic design, and in addition to painting outside of work, she is a member of Creative Arts of Women, Creative Women of Color, and Arts and Artists of Ohio.
“I focus my expression on primarily portraying women of color to create more opportunities for myself and others to see us in gallery spaces,” McLymont said in an email. “Black women are usually the most forgotten in wider community conversations, though we are constantly the backbone support to our communities.”
Morton said anyone who views McLymont’s work at the Faculty Club can experience her message of hope and love for her community firsthand.
“She has an interesting way of viewing the world, and that shines through in her work,” Morton said. “She utilizes art to make a statement about what’s important to her, and what she wants the future of that community to be.”
The OSU Faculty Club is located at 181 South Oval Drive. Exhibitions are held year-round, and all are free and open to the public.
“Can We Live With a Dead Dream Inside Us?” by Lisa M. McLymont. Credit: Emily Dean | Lantern Reporter
