Solway Gallery

Two exhibitions opening this Friday, June 5th, 5 - 8 PM

ROBERT FRONK: ASSISTED READYMADES +
TOM MARIONI: DRAWINGS, PRINTS, AND OTHER WORKS

In a departure from his forty-year primary practice as a painter, Cincinnati artist Robert Fronk has created a body of 3-D assembled “collages” utilizing a stockpile of thousands of wood-milled industrial foundry patterns. From origins as varied as municipal waterworks to submarine doors, these elegant forms lend themselves to Fronk’s intense study of line, form, and design. The severe color palette of black/red/yellow and the various markings are cryptic remnants of their factory backstory—not to be obscured, but rather honored as important relics of Cincinnati’s famed 20th century machinist trades.

Tom Marioni was born in 1937 in Cincinnati, Ohio, class of Cincinnati Art Academy 1959, afterwards moved to San Francisco, where he still lives. His first sound work, One Second Sculpture, 1969, was celebrated in the 2005 Lyon Biennial as presaging the work of many artists today who use sound and duration as subjects. His first museum show was in 1970 at the Oakland Museum of California. Titled “The Act of Drinking Beer with Friends is the Highest Form of Art,” it was an early example of social art as a sculpture action. Over the years, Marioni was invited to repeat the work in various contexts around the world.

1. Robert Fronk (b. 1958), "Industrial Mandala (small)," 2024, Wood-milled industrial foundry patterns, 69 x 70 inches

2. Installation view of Robert Fronk: Assisted Readymades exhibition

3. Installation view of Tom Marioni: Drawings, Prints, and Other Works exhibition

4. Tom Marioni, "Beer Art," 2026, Palette, Pacifico beer, Edition of 6, 1/6, 9 1/2 x 11 1/2 x 8 inches

5. Tom Marioni, "Three of a Kind," 2017, Color spit bite aquatint and soft ground etching on paper, Edition of 25, AP 1, Published by Crown Point Press, Image: 11 x 11 inches, Paper: 17 1/2 x 17 inches

Solway Gallery's first-floor gallery exhibition "I-75 Corridor" will be also be on-view during the reception.

Happy 89th Birthday Tom Marioni

"WHAT IS ART FOR"
for beauty
for history
for decorating apartments
for people to laugh at
for imitating nature
for therapy
for seeing in a new way
for an educated audience
for enlightenment
for political agendas
for glorifying the church in the renaissance
for glorifying the state under communism
for glorifying the rich in capitalism
for recording society in a poetic way

- Tom Marioni (From "Social Art," 2025)

Our upcoming exhibitions TOM MARIONI: DRAWINGS, PRINTS, AND OTHER WORKS and ROBERT FRONK: ASSISTED READYMADES open Friday, June 5th, 5 - 8 PM

1. Tom Marioni, "Out-of-Body Free-Hand Circle," 2007/2009, Installation view at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York

2. Tom Marioni, "Male/Female, Beer/Violin," 2012, Graphite on plaster mounted on wood, 35 x 28 inches

3. Tom Marioni outside his family home in Hyde Park, Cincinnati, 2006

4-5. Detail images of ephemera in upcoming exhibition "Tom Marioni: Prints, Drawings, and Other Works"

6. Tom Marioni, Detail of "Drawing a Line as Far as I Can Reach (Tree)," 1998, Color pencil on paper, 42 1/4 x 94 inches

2026 Fine Print Fair at the Atrium

Celebrate the 41st Fine Print Fair, the Print Club of Cleveland's annual benefit to support the Cleveland Museum of Art, free and open to the public. Browse and shop one of the largest displays of works on paper from 15 dealers from around the US.

When: April 16 - April 19, 2026
Where: Ames Family Atrium, The Cleveland Museum of Art
Hours:
Friday: 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.
Saturday: 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Sunday: 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Ticketed Preview Party - Thursday April 16, 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.



1. Eva Kwong, 'Aftermath (14),' 1994, Unique monotype print on paper, Paper: 30 1/2 x 23 inches #

2. Eva Kwong, 'Aftermath (18),' 1994, Unique monotype print on paper, Paper: 30 1/2 x 23 inches

3. Eva Kwong, 'Aftermath (17),' 199, Unique monotype print on paper, Paper: 30 1/2 x 23 inches

4. Eva Kwong, 'Aftermath (11),' 1994, Unique monotype print on paper, Paper: 30 1/2 x 23 inches

5. Eva Kwong, 'Fiddleheads I,' 1992, Unique monotype print on paper, Paper: 30 x 22 inches

6. Eva Kwong, 'Fiddleheads II,' 1992, Unique monotype print on paper, Paper: 30 x 22 inches

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