Among fine art that will be part of the Constella Festival of Music and Fine Arts: Mozart opera “reimagined” by sculptor Rondle Royce West; Mick Jagger photograph by Gary Lee Boas; Cincinnati scene by outsider artist Andrew Van Sickle; violin sculpture by Tom Marioni.

By Jennifer Feld, Artist and Constella Festival volunteer

The Constella Festival of Music and Fine Arts is known for the for the star-power musicians it brings to Greater Cincinnati stages each fall.

Indeed, we are privileged and proud that such world-renowned names such as violin virtuoso Joshua Bell, Grammy-award winning conductor Paavo Järvi and jazz legend Jimmy Heath will be joining us – and you – for a celebration of our region’s best music, arts, organizations and venues.

That’s what our name is all about – a constellation of the brightest of music, arts and more for magical events that will build enjoyment, appreciation and support for our rich cultural community, all year round.

We have been writing a lot about, deservedly, the musicians. Now, let’s take a moment to let the artists take the stage and highlight some of the fine art exhibitions that will be presented as part of Constella events. All exhibits are free to festival patrons. In many cases the artists will be at events so you may meet them. And their work will be available for purchase if you care to support our artists and enjoy their work.

Queen City Connections: Glory and Prosperity Exhibition

Thursday, October 10 7:30 p.m. at Memorial Hall.

Performance: Tatiana Berman, violin, Paavo Järvi, conductor in a world premiere of a violin concerto by composer Charles Coleman. Details.

About the art:  The Queen City Connection’s art exhibition titled “Glory and Prosperity” will feature the pop art influences of Andrew Van Sickle, Outsider Artist legend Rev. Howard Finster, and famed celebrity photographer and author Gary Lee Boas. Cincinnati artist Van Sickle first met Howard Finster in 1987 while a student at the University of Cincinnati.  He spent that summer living with Finster and his family at his celebrated outdoor environment Paradise Garden in Summerville, Ga. Their 14 year friendship, developed VanSickle’s art style, marketing and press relation skills.  Gary Lee Boas is the celebrated Outsider photographer/ author who focused on the world of celebrity with no formal training has thrilled the photography world the past decade.

Exhilarating Arias and Music Art and Beyond Festival

Saturday, October 26, 8 p.m., Memorial Hall

Performance: Kelley O'Connor, mezzo soprano, Jessica Rivera, soprano, Robert Spano, piano. Details.

About the art: Carl Solway Gallery presents a special one-night exhibition for Constella  The exhibition features innovative contemporary artwork by three internationally recognized artists born in Ohio who now live and work in the San Francisco Bay: Paul DeMarinis, Tom Marioni, and Alan Rath. Curated by Michael Solway, Director, Carl Solway Gallery. 

Rath and DeMarinis are pioneers in the fields of electronic and electronic media art respectively.  Marioni is best known as a Conceptual artist.  Rath and DeMarinis will show artwork integrating aspects of sound with the visual arts.  Rath’s contribution is a kinetic, robotic sculpture in which large pheasant feathers are choreographed by mechanical parts that emit subtle, whirring sounds.  DeMarinis presents “Hypnica” a group of talking metronomes using the voices of hypnotists to create a cacophony of speech.  Marioni creates his work with musical instruments including a sculpture constructed from a violin and drawings made with a drum brush.

Spellbound: Three Centuries, Three Summits

Saturday, October 19, 8 p.m., Memorial Hall

Performance: Stewart Goodyear, piano. Details.

About the art:  This concert will feature a one-night only art exhibition “Function/Dysfunction” featuring artists and craftsmen from Brazee Street Studios. Fine art, furniture, and accessories from local designers will be for sale the night of the exhibition. Some of the artists participating will be: Sean Druley, Cedric Cox, C. Jacqueline Wood, Susan Byrnes, Reptiles + Rainbows, Kent Krugh and more.

Inspired Improvisations and Stravinsky

Wednesday, October 30, 7:30 p.m., Freedom Center

Performance: Choreographers Heather Britt and Jimmy Cunningham, dancers of the Cincinnati Ballet and festival musicians on stage with the magnificent work of artist Sandra Gross. Details.

About the art: The Cincinnati Art Museum is kindly loaning the Constella Festival 6 prints from their Ballet Russe series to be on display at the rear of the theater in the Freedom Center from October 28 – November 4. The Museum will also have an exhibition entitled: Degas, Renoir, and Poetic Pastels which features a selection of pastels from the museum’s world renowned permanent collection and includes Degas’s poignant ballet dancers.  This exhibition will be on view at the Cincinnati Art Museum from October 26, 2013 – January 19, 2014.

Joshua Bell, Constella Festival Finale

Thursday, November 7, 7.30 p.m. Memorial Hall

Performance: Joshua Bell, violin, Sam Haywood, piano.  Details.

About the art: Three sculptures from “MozART: A pop-sculpture opera in 13 acts” by Rondle Royce West. The sculptures reimagine the main characters in Mozart’s folk opera, The Magic Flute, with the thirteenth piece being the maestro himself.  The vision for these characters is to blend their 18th Century origins with who they would be today. Rondle Royce West “was born an artist in 1965 and has been one since,” he said. Rondle lives in Cincinnati and Palm Springs.

Please support artists in the Constella community

Before and after events, please take time to discover the myriad of galleries, museums and other places where art lives and thrives steps from our venues and close to our hearts. We encourage you to support the artists who are part of the constellation of artistic talent in Greater Cincinnati.

See you at the festival!

Jennifer Feld attended the University of Cincinnati for an undergraduate degree in Fine Art, Painting major and Art Education as well as Southern Utah University for Masters for Arts Administration.  She works full time for Artonomy Inc as the Senior Art Consultant since 2007. She has run several gallery spaces in Greater Cincinnati; the founder of The MarX Gallery in Covington Kentucky and the Art gallery director for four years at Thomas More College’s Eva G. Farris Art Gallery and was the Marketing and Education director at the Braithwaite Fine Arts Gallery at Southern Utah University.

She is also a working artist having exhibited and sold her work across the nation as well as overseas.   She is a very passionate art supporter, hoping to spread her love of the arts to all.

“As I’ve experienced over many years being involved with the Art community in Cincinnati, we are very supportive of each other. I hope that all of you can support these fantastic events, and see that organizations like these bring more appreciation, education, and economic impact to our great city.