Means the Most
Michael Agricola and Michelle Whitmer 
October 22nd - November 28th, 2021
Indian Hill Gallery
 

Indian Hill Gallery's fall exhibition, Means the Most pairs two local artists, Michael Agricola and Michelle Whitmer, and a selection of candid paintings inspired from their environments and everyday life. The viewer can peer into the moments, scenes, and spaces, that the artists’ draw from and spend time in. These moments are explored with bold uses of color and mark making, the history and layers of investigation made visible on the surface.  

 

Michael distorts and transforms the space and its occupants, relying on memory, where the specifics are gradually lost as he leaves the viewer with his recollection of the scene. Michael’s paintings are a place where he floats between the imagined and observable world. 

 

Growing up and living in Ohio, Michelle notices the potential in places and objects not typically considered “beautiful". Michelle finds the mundane alluring and discovers complexity in lackluster places, using the personality of paint as a true companion to explore imagery of contemporary American life.

 

Both artists use evocative shapes and a sense of movement, to create a visual diary- a collection of intimate moments reflecting their own personal worlds. 

 

Michael Agricola studied fine arts at the University of Cincinnati School of Design, Art, Architecture, and Planning (DAAP) and graduated in 1996 with a  BFA in Drawing. During his time at DAAP, he received a study abroad scholarship to the Glasgow School of Art. Since graduating, Agricola has been working in the arts and creative fields. Making art is a vocation that he has remained devoted to.

 

Michelle Whitmer grew up in Northwest Ohio, and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from the Bowling Green State University. During her time at Bowling Green, she studied at Santa Reparata International School of Art in Florence, Italy. Her work was recently published in the New American Painting periodical. Michelle has relocated to Cincinnati where she uses her new surroundings as a focus in her work.