Freedom, loss inform artwork

Hamilton, Ohio – Life pushes and pulls. Hence the name of the current exhibition at the Fitton Center for Creative Arts.

Artist John Sproul of Salt Lake City offered an example of the dichotomy

“When my youngest son started driving a couple of years ago, there was a certain freedom I had,” Sproul said. “Time I used to spend taking him everywhere in the car was mine again. But there also was a feeling of loss. There was a period of about 20 years I had in the car with my boys and now it’s gone. (Editor’s note: Sproul’s three sons are now 18, 21 and 25 years old.)

“It’s an interesting dynamic between moving forward – of reaching a milestone like a driver’s license – and a loss. That’s what I’m looking at in my art.”

John Sproul meets fellow artist Tarah Trueblood at the opening for the Push & Pull exhibition February 14.

Sproul’s art weaves together with pieces by Tarah Trueblood of Oxford, Ohio, to create a two-person show within the larger Push & Pull exhibition.

While this body of work marks his Fitton Center debut, Sproul is no stranger to gallery spaces with 27 solo exhibitions under his belt, as well as pieces in more than 100 group shows. His art appears in venues including the J. Paul Getty Museum, CICA Museum in South Korea, Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Utah Museum of Contemporary Art and the Painting Center in New York.

“I create art to access emotional states I cannot enter into directly,” he said in his exhibition artist’s statement. “I use restless visual language to evoke the fear, anxiety and loneliness permeating public and private life.

“My work mirrors a culture shaped by selfies, likes and algorithms, attempting to unravel what it means to be seen and to survive within alienating social systems.”

He said he’s always looking for new places to show his work and was glad to be selected for Push & Pull.

“I read all about what the Fitton does,” Sproul said. “It’s really nice to see a place so invested in the community. It’s a great resource for this area.”

Push & Pull opened February 14 and is on view in the Monument, Riverview, Bever West and Bever North galleries at the Fitton Center for Creative Arts through March 27. Fitton Center galleries are always FREE and open to the public.

Gallery hours run 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays, on selected weekends in conjunction with performance events and by appointment. Guests may arrange field trips or guided gallery tours by writing Director of Exhibitions Cathy Mayhugh at cathy@fittoncenter.org.

The Fitton Center for Creative Arts is located at 101 S. Monument Avenue on the Riverfront in downtown Hamilton, Ohio.

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