Lizzi Aronhalt (1991-)
Wallhaven, 2018
Materials: Acrylic, charcoal, paint marker on canvas 30 x 40”.
Location at Summa Health: Dr. Gary B. and Pamela S. Williams Tower on the Akron Campus (141 N. Forge St.), blue neighborhood, sixth floor, hallway outside patient rooms H6-121 and H6-122.
About the art and artist
(photo by Ilenia Pezzaniti)
Wallhaven, a neighborhood in northwest Akron, is the bright subject of Lizzi Aronhalt’s large canvas. To represent this street scene, the artist works in her typical freely interpretive style, with blocks of color articulating broad areas and an animated line that seems to jump from one feature to the next. The image seems to be drawn, but in fact, first it was painted. Aronhalt lay in color and then articulated it, bringing it to realization with strokes of charcoal and marker that both define certain parts of the street scene and then seem to take off on their own for the sheer joy of it. Both technique and the exuberance she creates with it characterize much of her work, of which she says:
Much of my recent work is an exploration of the places I inhabit and specifically the buildings I find myself surrounded by … The paintings do not capture the iconic but the typical, with a fresh view. [They]… capture the everyday with content such as satellite dishes on rooftops in Rome, ice cream stands in Akron, and corner stores in Cincinnati.
To this observation and the preference for what is typical and fresh, the artist brings visual tools to convey her own responses. Her choice of bright colors and vivid line reveals appreciation, and often joy, and the expansive composition, along with the raised viewpoint from which her cityscapes are viewed, impart a feeling of hopefulness, which recommended this work to the Summa Health collection.
A native of Akron, Aronhalt earned the Bachelor of Science degree in Art Education from Miami University, with a minor in 2-dimensional media, in 2013. She spent two years following graduation in Eastern Europe, continuing to make art and stay involved in organizing art events. She has a studio in Akron and gives art lessons.
Where you can see more of this artist’s work:
Aronhalt has shown her work regularly since her graduation, in solo and group shows and in juried competitions in northeast Ohio and Indiana. She creates in a studio in Summit Artspace and her website has an excellent overview of her work.