Founded in 1919 by Joseph G. Butler, Jr., The Butler Institute of American Art is the first museum of American art. The original structure is a McKim, Mead and White architectural masterpiece listed on the National Register of Historic places. Known worldwide as “America’s Museum”, the museum’s collection totals over 20,000 pieces in all media, and spans four centuries of work. Plan a visit!
EXHIBITIONS
America: Through the Heart and Eyes of Oscar De Mejo
July 16, 2023 – November 12, 2023
Oscar De Mejo was an Italian immigrant who moved to the United States after World War II. De Mejo’s paintings are a mesmerizing mixture of the naive, and the sophisticated, the literal and the outlandish. They are primitive in the sense of being direct, playful, brightly colored, and precisely delineated. His witty, whimsical depictions of American life are immediately engaging, but upon closer observation their complexity becomes fully apparent, and his unique brand of surrealism is revealed.
Janine Stern: Exit Series
October 15 – December 31, 2023
The Exit Series, is a provocative body of work that evokes Memories, Messages and Beauty. My medium began early on as pencil on roofing tar paper and evolved into working on white paper. Years, of color on black emerged to pencil on white, while simulating the same sensuous tar paper. Color tones are rich adding vibrancy to the skies and desert land. My color palette is enormous with over one hundred and fifty pencil shades, allowing for many multiple layers of pencil.
84th Area Artist Annual Exhibition
October 29 – November 19, 2023
Reception: October 29, 1:00pm-3:00pm (Awards at 2:00pm)
The Butler’s Area Artists Annual is a juried exhibition, held yearly that includes selected original artworks in all media created and submitted by artists residing in Trumbull, Mahoning and Columbiana counties in Ohio, and Mercer and Lawrence counties in Pennsylvania. Works include paintings in oil, watercolor, acrylic, pastel, drawings, prints, photographs, ceramics, sculpture, and crafts. This year’s exhibition will be judged by Mary Urbas. Mary has 38 years of experience in the professional art world as a gallery owner, curator, teacher, consultant and exhibiting fiber artist, bringing a real-world perspective to both sides of the business and marketing of art. For the last 12.5 years, she has been the Gallery Coordinator and Exhibition Curator at Lakeland Community College in Lake County.