Right now Columbus is in the midst of its second installment of the Short North Temporary Mural Series, which is being sponsored by Create Columbus and Orange Barrel Media. In partnership with 11 art institutions, there are 11 artists who have taken their paintings and turned them into murals.
Each month during gallery hop (on the 1st Saturday of each month), one of the mural artists will present a body of their work at a local art institution. This past weekend, Joe Lombardo presented his work at Art Access Gallery in Bexley.
The discussion was fairly informal with Lombardo addressing the mural and explaining his background as well as offering art tips for the artists in the audience.
Lombardo is an Ohio-native who earned his BFA from Columbus College of Art & Design and his MFA from Bowling Green State University.
The mural he painted is an enlargement of his painting, Lot Primaries, which is part of a greater series he did about parking lots. He first began his parking lots series when he was studying at Bowling Green in 2007. He liked the idea of looking at parking lots as landscapes and then found that the series took on a deeper meaning in the midst of the oil and gas crisis.
Lombardo has taken part in a few artist residency programs. He completed 2 with the Arkansas National Parks – Buffalo National River and Hot Springs National Park. He also did a residency with the Glen Arbor Art Association in Glen Arbor, Michigan.
His Inspiration: Tom Thomson, Charles Burchfield, Fairfield Porter, Tom Friedman
Where to Find Him: Adjunct Professor at CCAD, Columbus Cultural Arts Center, Teaching various workshops (including one at the Glen Arbor Art Association)
Joe Lombardo
Art Access Gallery
540 S. Drexel Ave
Bexley, Ohio 43209
Mural Located at 459 N High St (between Vine & Spruce)