Mazza Showcasing Selection Of World’s Finest Fantasy Artists

(From the Mazza Museum)

University of Findlay’s Mazza Museum will showcase a selection of the world’s finest fantasy artists in its 10th annual Enchanted Brush exhibit, open now through August 30.

This year’s exhibit, free and open to the public in the Lea Gallery of the Gardner Fine Arts Pavilion, has a theme of “Heroes Welcome.”

“Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. Ask an artist to interpret this theme and you can all but guarantee there will be more than a few surprises, which is precisely what inspired this exhibition,” explained Dan Chudzinski, director of curation and exhibitions at Mazza and founder of the Enchanted Brush exhibition.

There are 25 works of art, representing 22 international fantasy artists, in the display. Chudzinski is proud this is the 10th year of the exhibit, which features both debut artists and some “old favorites.”

The theme emphasizes the connection between fantasy artwork and literature, and the artwork highlights real and fictional heroes from a variety of historical and cultural backgrounds.

“Every great story has a hero,” the curator said. “Although this archetype is familiar and occasionally overused, the characteristics that embody this persona are often quite rare.”

Among the featured pieces is “Off With Their Heads,” acrylic and watercolor on watercolor paper, by Tran Nguyen. It originally was created as a cover for Zoe Hana Mikuta’s book of the same name, which is a Korean-inspired re-imagining of “Alice in Wonderland” filled with magic, unearthly monsters, and betrayals. The painting features the two protagonists from the story surrounded by hints of what the world entails.

Another piece is “Sylvester Roper and His Self-Propeller,” a mixed media sculpture by Chris Sickles that pays tribute to the inventor of the motorcycle. Chudzinski himself has a mixed media sculpture on display, “The Reliquary of St. George,” depicting a life-sized dragon skull.

Other participating artists are Kaysha Siemens, Mark Poole, Allen Douglas, C.F. Payne, Colin Nitta, Armand Baltazar, Colin Poole, Kristine Poole, Vanessa Lemen, Kelley Hensing, Serena Malyon, Don Maitz, Janny Wurts, Bud Cook, Jason Mowry, Reiko Murakami, Scott Gustafson, Melissa Sue Stanley, and Ed Binkley.

Many of the pieces of artwork on display are available for purchase, with all of the proceeds going to the artists.

A reception will take place Monday, July 15, from 4:30 – 5:30 p.m., with a gallery tour and some of the artists attending to discuss their work.

For more information on the exhibit, visit mazzamuseum.org.