Art Academy of Cincinnati Professor of 30 Years to be Focus of New Exhibit

Artwork by a longtime Art Academy of Cincinnati professor who taught hundreds of students from 1968 - 2001 is the focus of an upcoming exhibit.

Stewart Goldman was an educator and mentor at the AAC for more than 30 years. The upcoming exhibition, Cross Currents: Stewart Goldman, is a culmination of Goldman’s varied work that allows his impact on students and the community to continue.

Cross Currents opens March 31 at the AAC’s SITE1212, from 5-8 p.m. with a public reception and artist talk.

Goldman’s enduring presence in the Ohio art world has conveyed profound concern for human rights, social justice and the global implications of genocide in Germany and elsewhere. Currently, Goldman is a board member at the Cincinnati Art Museum and a member of the advisory committee at the Alice F. And Harris K. Weston Art Gallery. His curations have included shows on printmaking, the visual aesthetics of opera and the long-term influence of the Renaissance.

Cross Currents: Stewart Goldman is accompanied by writings from Sue Spaid, a Northern Kentucky University and University of Dayton philosophy professor. Spaid recently published a book reflecting on her 35 years as a curator, critic, gallerist and museum director called The Philosophy of Curatorial Practice: Between Work and World.

Also part of the exhibit are interviews with president of the AAC Joe Girandola and former University of Cincinnati employee Kristi Nelson, who served UC for 40 years in various roles contributing to the arts. The two professionals have extensive experience in the art world, which will render compelling and informed commentary on Goldman’s work.

Girandola is a classically trained stone carver and recipient of notable grants including 2017 and 2019 BLINK Artist Grant. Nelson was an art history professor at the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning, where she led numerous study abroad trips to Italy with UC students.

Goldman’s work includes assorted methods and mediums. His ink drawings, oil on linen and photography carry an abstract aesthetic while often converting to portraits and scenes of nature. Goldman focuses a great deal of his work on the Holocaust - most recently The Hanging Figures (2019) at the Hebrew Union College’s Skirball Art Museum.

Cross Currents: Stewart Goldman opens March 31. Public reception and artist talk on Friday, March 31, from 5–8 p.m. The exhibit runs through April 24. The Art Academy of Cincinnati: 1212 Jackson St., Over-the-Rhine. For more information visit www.artacademy.edu/exhibitions.