Noel Martin, a lifelong Cincinnati painter and graphic-design pioneer, passed away Feb. 23 at the age of 86. In addition to formal training, Martin taught himself typography and graphics, and in doing so revolutionized museum publishing with his designs for the Cincinnati Art Museum and his modern logo for the Contemporary Arts Center.  

Solid curating and progressive notions have gone into the Cincinnati Art Museum's new solo exhibition in the Vance-Waddell Gallery. The exhibition traces former Art Academy professor Stewart Goldman's evolution from representational painting, of recognizable rooms, into the increasingly less certain terrain of abstract painting.  

Almost 15 years after Robert A. Lewis decided to bequest his collection of modern-era outsider/folk and contemporary art to a museum, it finally makes its debut at one firmly committed to keeping it: the Cincinnati Art Museum, starting Saturday. And, befitting the evolution of popularity of outsider art, what a strange trip it has been for Lewis.  

"China Design Now" is a comprehensive exhibition of hundreds of objects elaborates on the booming innovations presently taking place in the fields of design, fashion, and architecture throughout China. The exhibition is split into three sections, corresponding one of those design areas with an eastern coastal city: Shenzhen, Shanghai and Beijing. The exhibition continues through Jan. 11, 2009. $8 for adults; $6 for seniors/college students; $4 for children ages 6-17; free for members and children under age 6.  

Turning adversity into a virtue is something artists are good at. The adversity of being an artist in a Communist society that forbad direct social criticism steered Anderle into a body of work well suited for comment on the human condition. So prints became Anderle's dominant form of expression through much of his career.  

Ryan McGinness' exhibition of new paintings creates an optical second reality in the Vance-Waddell Gallery at the Cincinnati Art Museum. He uses florescent paint to create a three-dimensional effect. The illusion is so believable that it's hard to imagine anyone not itching to touch the panels.  

Many Westerners received their introduction to modern China during the 2008 Olympic games. Television viewers witnessed the results of an architectural explosion in Beijing, and innovative structures like the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube became instant cultural icons.