Cincinnatian Mark de Jong, a trained artist as well as a renovator/reimaginer of old houses, is opening his latest art house to the public for a special exhibit.
The mind behind Camp Washington's Swing House, de Jong is opening Stair House as a venue, in concert with Fotofocus, for a special lens-based art show featuring the work of Jesse Byerly, Steve Paszt and Jacqueline Wood.
The art will include "still images and video work contrasting the ‘storied’ past history of the house with a transformation of the space," says de Jong in a release.
As for the house itself, it is undergoing a multi-year renovation in which de Jong has painted the walls white and removed individual stories to allow "multiple stairs (to) visually dance with each other."
In a 2018 interview, de Jong told CityBeat's Steven Rosen that Stair House "will be a study in similarities and contrasts with Swing House."
[PHOTOS: Inside Swing House, a One-of-a-Kind Interactive Art Exhibit in Camp Washington]
The Swing House is a whole-building art project — a freestanding 1880s three-story brick home in which de Jong has removed the interior walls and upper floors and built a swing right in the middle of the opened-up interior.
Made from pine he salvaged from third floor joists, the swing is attached by 30 feet of natural-fiber rope to a metal beam on the ceiling.
Stair House will be open for the exhibit from:
- 1-4 p.m. Oct. 16, with a grand opening later in the evening from 6-9 p.m.
- 1-4 p.m. Oct. 17
- 1-4 p.m. Oct. 23, with an artist talk at 2 p.m.
- 1-4 p.m. Oct. 24
Swing House will also be open during these times. And it is available to rent as an Airbnb.
Stair House is located at 1375 Avon Place, Camp Washington. Swing House is located at 1373 Avon Place.
De Jong also created Square House in Northside, which incorporated geometric shapes in an artful way and has since been sold.
Read CityBeat's interview with de Jong about Swing House.
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