DRAWING CONCLUSIONS
EXHIBITION AT THE SWOPE ART MUSEUM
Terre Haute, Indiana
January 20 – April 2, 2023
Exhibiting my work at the Swope Art Museum in 2023 is special to me. This exhibition brings me full circle from my earliest inspiration found in an art gallery setting. My father, Ray H. Hahn, owned a shoe store located directly across the street from the museum. My professional connections with the Swope began in 1977 with a solo show at what was previously called the Swope Art Gallery. The same year I participated in the Indiana State University Women’s Art Symposium exhibition that featured the work of Alice Neel, Faith Ringgold, Pat Steir, and other women artists. My first professional solo show was presented in 1972 by Terre Haute native Jane Haslem in her gallery in Madison, Wisconsin. She later featured my work in her Washington, D.C. gallery. During the 1970s, I was showing my work throughout Indiana. My work appeared at numerous venues, including the Washington Gallery in Indianapolis, under the direction of Kit Basquin. She and her husband, Peter, encouraged me and promoted my work during the early years of my career. I now feel that I have indeed come home to where much of my creative “life” began.
The act of drawing has always inspired me. The paintings and drawings of this show are created with a variety of media, including graphite, charcoal, acrylic, watercolor, marker, collage, ink, and oil; they feature many drawing configurations such as dots, dashes, rhythmic patterns, and sweeping arcs that portray a world that is always in motion.
My entire out-pouring of work over fifty years encompasses many interests, struggles, and my overall connections with nature and the world around me. I welcome viewers to “draw their own conclusions” about my artwork. Whatever the subject and media employed, I want people to be moved by my paintings and drawings in positive ways. I end my remarks with the following quote by the artist Hilma af Klint: “Every time I succeed in finishing one of my sketches, my understanding of humanity, animals, plants, minerals, or the state of creation, becomes clearer. I feel freed and raised up above my limited consciousness.”
-Cheryl H. Hahn
For more information and to purchase work from this exhibition, please notify the artist through the contact page.
