Dana Oldfather (b.1978)
Saturday 1 & Friday 1
Materials: Mono and screen print, 1/1 | 30 x 23 inches | 2011
Location: Akron City Hospital, Ground Floor, Green Neighborhood, near Pharmacy
About the Art
Dana Oldfather created these striking prints during her residency at Zygote Press in the spring of 2011. Using a meticulous multi-step printing process, she began by painting layers of colored ink onto a plexiglass plate, which was then pressed onto damp paper to produce a unique monoprint. She further enriched each piece with screen prints made from photographs of her own shoes—Onitsuka Tiger tennis shoes for Saturday 1, symbolizing play, and Frye Oxfords for Friday 1, representing work. The result is a compelling reflection on the balance between labor and leisure, expressed through a harmonious interplay of form, color, and symbolism.
Oldfather’s work invites viewers into a world of heightened perception, where time slows, and emotions surface. Her evocative landscapes encourage contemplation of existence, transformation, and the delicate tension between control and release.
At Summa Health, we are honored to showcase Dana Oldfather’s work, offering patients, visitors, and caregivers a moment of reflection and connection through the power of visual art. We believe in art’s ability to heal, inspire, and transform spaces, and we are proud to feature Oldfather’s dynamic compositions. Known for her expressive use of color and fluid interplay between abstraction and representation, her work captures movement and emotion through layered, gestural marks.
These works are prominently displayed in the Green Neighborhood of the hospital, serving as both a source of inspiration and a wayfinding element. The Green Neighborhood, designed with a focus on calmness and rejuvenation, provides an inviting space where patients and visitors can pause, reflect, and engage with the artwork. Oldfather’s pieces seamlessly integrate into this environment, enhancing the healing atmosphere and guiding individuals through the hospital with visual cues that offer both direction and a sense of place.
About the Artist
Oldfather’s work is deeply rooted in an exploration of impermanence and the complexities of human experience. Her paintings often reflect a sense of unease, as if the ground is shifting beneath our feet. Through expressive landscapes, she captures the fleeting nature of time, using thick atmospheres and vibrant hues reminiscent of dawn, eclipses, and summer storms. Flora takes on surreal, organic forms—bulbous, feathery, and petal-like—suggesting transformation and the passage of moments.
Her process is one of layering and intuitive mark-making, where abstraction meets figuration in a constant state of flux. Each brushstroke carries an emotional weight, speaking to the tension between fear and freedom, uncertainty and acceptance. By constructing dreamlike environments that blend reality with the surreal, Oldfather invites viewers to contemplate the transient and ever-evolving nature of existence.
Dana Oldfather has exhibited in galleries and museums across the country, including Library Street Collective in Detroit, Zg Gallery in Chicago, Kathryn Markel Fine Art in New York, Red Arrow Gallery in Nashville, Abattoir Gallery in Cleveland, and moCa Cleveland. Her dedication to her craft has earned her prestigious accolades, including the William and Dorothy Yeck Award for Young Painters, two Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Awards, and a Satellite Fund Emergency Relief Grant from SPACES Gallery and The Warhol Foundation. She was also a 2019 finalist for the Hopper Prize. Oldfather’s work has been featured in numerous publications such as New American Paintings, Beautiful/Decay, and ArtMaze Magazine. Her paintings are held in significant collections, including The Putnam Collection at Case Western Reserve University, The Cleveland Clinic, The Progressive Art Collection, and The Columbus Museum of Art.
Based just outside Cleveland, Ohio, Oldfather continues to push the boundaries of painting while balancing life with her husband Randall and son Arlo.
To learn more, visit her website.
The Healing Arts at Summa Health