March & May 2022
Signs of Life in
the Substratum
Lisa McLymont
On view through
April 30
934 at CMH
Concourse B
Artist Bio
Lisa McLymont is a multi-hyphenate; artist, graphic designer & social justice advocate. Lisa’s art is mainly expressed through drawing and painting, welcoming curiosity to explore many directions knowing that each new experience provides insight while creating work that connects past and future worlds. Lisa has two ongoing portrait series, “The Universe Tribe”, & “The Odes”, focused on nuances within identity and inspired by the powerful communicative styles of protest posters and dreamy expressionism.
Lisa’s art encourages others to know the power in collaboratively seeking change. She overcomes anxieties about the unrest in the world, by seeking peace through a meditative process of making & taking time to view concepts at myopic levels.
Lisa McLymont was born in Manhattan, NY and has called Columbus, Ohio home since the age of ten. Formally educated in graphic design and visual communications at The Ohio State University, McLymont’s career as a self-taught, multi-disciplinary artist started in 2009, and has included forays into drawing, painting, murals, sculpture, and jewelry design, while letting inspiration found through research and the process of making lead. She is currently a member of the Columbus Public Art Commission, Maroon Arts Group, and is Black, Out, and Proud.
Show Statement
A recent return to abstract figurative works that celebrate the Ohio landscape and rich history. Portraits of a different sort…
These are first works in a new series with a main purpose of exploring the beauty of Ohio landscapes, and honoring the history the earth holds. On a recent visit to Serpent Mound, and have been thinking deeply about how the mounds provided safety and shelter for Native tribes. I also learned that Ohio is the birthplace of the Underground Railroad. These mounds may have also kept many Black ancestors safe too. So many layers. My approach to creating this body of work is to create another point of entry into how we choose to perceive, use, and protect these lands.
I continue to look in wonder at Ohio’s history. In addition to burying their elders, Natives used the land to record stories and displayed knowledge in their alignment of elements with the solstices to note the passing of time and the seasons. I consider farming now, and how the lands were flattened to plant crops, and how this action has eroded our safety from tornadoes and created less nutritious soil. I ask as I create; “how can we make a shift to preserve these lands for future generations? Regardless of who owns them, we are all stewards of them, and will all benefit from keeping them as healthy and rich as possible.
I am thankful to have this chance to share this body of work with those coming and going from Columbus. The works will next display in Portsmouth at the Southern Ohio Museum in early 2023 [https://somacc.com]. Portsmouth is one of Ohio’s oldest cities, and a major point on the Underground Railroad.