Artist Don Lambert, who wants his work to reach a wide public, is a perfect choice as the inaugural winner of the Cincinnati Art Museum’s new 4th Floor Award. Don Lambert: Supernova Terra Firma, the first 4th Floor Award exhibition, has just opened in the museum’s Vance-Waddell gallery and remains up through Nov. 29.
This represents an innovation in the way that Cincinnati museums — and museums everywhere — plan shows, by letting curatorial choices be made by interested art lovers rather than professionals.
The group, formed in 2008, is named for a non-existent floor at the museum, and thus immediately suggests “in-the-sky” thinking. The 4th Floor group, also known as Friends of Contemporary Art, is open to museum donors at the $500 level and above. Its events include visits to artists’ studios, behind-the-scenes gallery tours and other special programs. The 4th Floor Award will be biennial, specifically designed to promote regional artists.
