UC Blue Ash College

Art Gallery

The UC Blue Ash Art Gallery provides the community with a convenient location to appreciate the arts. Celebrate the work of artists from all over the world, and don't miss the next reception!


Imagined Worlds: The Artists of Visionaries + Voices

artwork by B Moran
  • Exhibition Dates: October 22 - December 5, 2024
  • Opening Reception: Thursday, October 24 • 5:00 - 7:00 pm
  • Artists' Talk: Wednesday, November 13 • 2:00 - 4:00 pm
  • Gallery Hours: Mon. & Wed. 1:00 - 5:00 pm | Tues. & Thur. 12:00 - 5:00 pm

In Imagined World: the Artists of Visionaries & Voices we see a collection of work, from paintings and sculptures to maps and buildings, that incorporate the time-honored tradition of the imagination. Artists have long created imagined spaces, portraits, and buildings that defy knowledge or boundaries. They push the viewer’s concept of reality, creating a new world; one that while based in some grains of familiarity, takes us all to a new world, an imagined world. The beauty of an imagination is that it has no boundaries.

Its foundations may be rooted in reality, but how reality is reinterpreted is only limited by the imagination of the artist and their audience. To an extent, the illusionary aspects of art make even the most realistic renderings beholden to the imagination.

Whether the landscape is a rendering of a place, or the occupants and their lives, the boundaries we so often identify landscapes with become as illusory as the reality we may seek. The imagination creates new boundaries, teases truths from traditional expectations, leaving a new reality to grow. 

artwork by v cole

Importantly, the perspective of the artist does not require an intimate knowledge of the subject, but a desired relationship with it. That freedom can create new stories and approaches allowing it to gather new insight. The viewer’s imagination may be triggered by the familiar, or a desire to connect with the familiar, but that is only the starting point of their journey with the artwork. This is not a new phenomenon: imagination has played a role in the history of art foras long as art has been created. The idealism of the Renaissance was no more an act of imagination than Surrealism of the twentieth century.

artwork by T Sphon

Environmental art and installations create new spaces from the limits of more physical boundaries and unlock the limitations of that space. In this exhibition we witness the imagination of artists from Visionaries and Voices as they respond to their world, through their talents as creators. The landscape of their minds knows no boundaries and comes alive at the UCBA Art Gallery.

Carla Cesare, PhD Gallery Director, Curator


Recent Exhibitions

TranSITions: investigating the chair

Exhibition Dates: March 21 - April 18, 2024

Artwork of chair with Transitions title

Dys-Propriety: Mixed Media Installation by Lisa Merida-Paytes

  • Exhibition dates: Jan. 16 - Feb. 23
Collage of artwork by Lisa Merida-Paytes

25 Years of Student Photography

  • Curated by H. Michael Sanders
  • Assistant Curators: Roo Hedrick and Matt Bennett
  • Show runs September 18 - October 27

LUXE / LUX: Mixed Media Installations


"I Wanna Be A Cowboy" | Paintings and Photography by John Wolfer

Cowboy figurine artwork

Admission & Hours

  • The UC Blue Ash Art Gallery has free admission and is open to the public.
  • For updated information on gallery hours, please contact us at bagaller@ucmail.uc.edu.

About the Gallery

The UC Blue Ash Art Gallery is in its third year, located at the Annex at 4131 Cooper Rd. The UC Blue Ash College Art and Visual Communication Department and Electronic Media Communications Department have collaborated to bring the community this outlet for the arts.

The UC Blue Ash College Art Gallery was founded to serve the campus community and the general public. We exhibit artworks reflecting the breadth and diversity of cultural and intellectual disciplines that we engage in as an institution of higher education. We are committed to presenting art in a broad range of 2D and 3D media, as well as spoken word, lectures, screenings and performances. 

Directions to the Gallery

The UC Blue Ash College Art Gallery is located inside the Annex Building, across the street at the intersection of Cooper Rd. and Plainfield Rd. The Annex has parking, and for receptions there is extra parking at the campus.

Blue Ash Gallery
4131 Cooper Road
Cincinnati, OH 45242

You can also head over to Google Maps to get directions.

Call for Exhibit Proposals

The UC Blue Ash Art Gallery conducts a juried review of accepted online exhibit proposals for the upcoming academic year. Please review the proposal guidelines and learn more about calls for entry.

Gallery Exhibit Archive

There have been some excellent exhibits throughout the history of the UC Blue Ash College Art Gallery. Take a moment and check out our gallery archive.

Resources

Contact Information

Phone: 513-558-9466
Email: bagaller@ucmail.uc.edu